Garden State Patriot

With the season of giving upon us, allow me a moment to ask for your support to help fight a truly dreadful disease.

Most likely you will be unaware of the disease I am about to describe — Ataxia Telangiectasia – more commonly known as “A-T.”

“Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) is a radiosensitive, multi-system neuro-degenerative genetic disease effecting children.”

Children with A-T gradually experience a variety of debilitating ailments. Initial signs of the disease include slurred speech and wobbliness while walking. As motor control deteriorates, A-T children likely begin to experience trembling akin to Parkinson’s “often lead[ing] to the need of a walker or wheelchair from an early age.”

Lack of motor control also contributes to a propensity to experience difficulty swallowing and episodes of choking.

A-T children are also more susceptible to respiratory infections which, in some cases, can be of a life threatening nature. They are also at “a 1,000 times greater risk of blood cancers, such as Leukemia and Lymphoma.”

Unfortunately, there is currently no “formal means of treatment and no cure” for A-T. While A-T affects each child differently, the long-term prognosis is grim. “In rare situations children, mostly those who never develop cancer, live into their 30’s or even 40’s, however most children do not live past their late teens or mid 20’s, typically due to respiratory failure or cancer.”

Over a year ago, in the fall of 2009, after months of searching for answers regarding their son’s health problems, my cousin Samantha and her husband Nick received the news that their 4-year old son Connor was a afflicted with A-T.

As you can imagine, this is any parent’s worst nightmare. Under such circumstances, one could certainly understand becoming despondent, angry, and possibly losing one’s faith.

Instead, Samantha and Nick gathered up their strength and took action. Soon after learning of Connor’s condition, they launched a charitable foundation to help educate and fund research for A-T called the Wobbly Feet Foundation.

Wobbly Feet Foundation has been instrumental to bringing attention to this rare disease and providing much-needed support to other A-T families.

Samantha and Nick’s courageous and admirable efforts have already helped raise $50,000 for the Wobbly Feet Foundation in just 14 months’ time. These precious funds have been directed to financing important research projects, including a $20,000 study to understand the impact of inflammation on A-T sufferers that will be undertaken by the renowned Johns Hopkins University.

Funds are also applied in the form of grants for A-T families to pay for medical equipment like special walkers, wheelchairs and speech equipment, and treatments like IV immune infusion therapy that, in some cases, is denied or not fully covered by health insurance.

Of course, much more is help is needed to continue to raise awareness and help fund research into A-T. So, I hope that you can make a contribution to Wobbly Feet. Your gift will help fund the development of treatments for the children suffering from A-T and, hopefully, one day lead to finding a cure for this terrible disease. Any gift, large or small, would be most appreciated.

If you would like to donate to the Wobbly Feet Foundation, you can do so by clicking here now.

For more information on the Wobbly Feet Foundation and A-T, please visit the Wobbly Feet Foundation website. Wobbly Feet Foundation can also be found on Facebook here.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of “meeting” the President of the United States. He was kind enough to show my sign, too! Enjoy!

PS: I particularly found Mr. Sestak’s comments to be disgraceful. I wonder what people in the military would think of it.

Governor Christie might be getting all the press these days as a “New Jersey’s conservative rock star” despite his less than conservative record.

But if things go as I hope and expect on November 2nd then New Jersey will truly have a conservative rock star with the creds to actually back it up.

Her name is Anna Little.

I finally got to see some of Anna’s debate with Frank Pallone from the other day and she was outstanding.

Here is some video of Anna sticking it to Pallone on the economy and then on health care.

As Anna’s campaign slogan says, “Little government is good government!” Go, Anna, go!!

The lamestream media has been all over Christine O’Donnell the past few days because the Tea Party favorite had the gall to point out that the “separation of Church and State” is not in the Constitution. In fact, if you return to the video clip from her debate with the “bearded Marxist” Chris Coons you can hear people in the audience actually laughing when O’Donnell questioned Coons saying, “That’s in the First Amendment?”

O’Donnell, though, should have the last laugh because she is 100% correct. Need I quote the First Amendment?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

What I find interesting about this episode is how quickly the media were to jump all over O’Donnell for this. For even if O’Donnell were inaccurate in her statements, what then is her sin? Being wrong?

In the course of the past year, we have seen scores of Democrats in Congress approached by bloggers and such asking a simple question; where in the Constitution does it empower Congress to take over health care or force people to buy health insurance.

The responses to this simple question have been nothing short of mind-blowing. Nancy Pelosi - the soon-to-be ex-Speaker – responded with derision.

Congressman Phil Hare blatantly said he didn’t care what the Constitution said.

Congressman Pete Stark claimed the there were few limits on what the Constitution could do to you in your private life!

Worse yet, how about the President of the United States who clearly has issues with the Constitution limiting the power of the federal government and advocates for an extra-Constitutional platform of “positive rights”?

Just where were the liberal media when these folks – our representatives in Congress who have taken an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution – willfully ignored it? Where were they when then candidate Obama was essentially advocating to obliterate the concept of limited government? 

People like Christine O’Donnell and others like her in the Tea Party Movement embrace our Constitution and founding principles. Most of us who believe we need to abide by original intent are not scholars on the Constitution. We might not be able to cite you text verbatim or reel off a half dozen Supreme Court cases that we like.

Unlike the left, we actually want to preserve the Constitution because we understand the simple concept that it is what protects our unalienable rights to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”  The left, on the other hand, seeks its destruction.

Yet, the left and the liberal lamestream media would have us believe that being wrong is somehow the worse sin.

Addendum

Lest I forget, another interesting development has occurred lately. The President of the United States, while on the stump, has been quoting the Declaration of Independence. The third time he did so was at an event this past Monday in Rockville, MD. Directly from a White House press release:

Most of us here came from someplace else — or our parents came from someplace else, or our grandparents, our great grandparents came from someplace else. And they were inspired by a particular idea, this idea of America. As wonderful as the land is here in the United States, as much as we have been blessed by the bounty of this magnificent continent that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific, what makes this place special is not something physical. It has to do with this idea that was started by 13 colonies that decided to throw off the yoke of an empire, and said, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that each of us are endowed with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Notice something missing?

Let’s go to the source:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

That’s right. President Obama, three times now, has left out the phrase “by their Creator.” Now, call me cynical but I doubt this was a mistake by the teleprompter technician. No, President Obama is deliberately omitting the phrase in a contemptible effort to eradicate religion from our public discourse; to deny the concept that our rights come from a Higher Being.

Have you seen the lamestream media pick up on this? Is the President’s deliberate omission of words enshrined in our Declaration of Independence worse than worse than someone erring about what the Constitution says?

I’ll let you decide.

The Christie for President nuttiness took another step forward today. Donald Sico, who as I understand it used to be the Executive Director of the Assembly, launched a website called www.DraftChristie2012.com.

Now, I don’t know if Sico is a conservative or not. And really, it does not matter.

The fact of the matter is Governor Christie has been in office for all of 9 months. To this point the jury is out as to whether his policies will actually fix New Jersey’s dire fiscal condition. And, quite frankly, what is known about the governor’s policies doesn’t leave this blogger with much confidence that it will.

But that is a separate issue and not the purpose of my post.

What troubles me is to see so many in the conservative media, blogosphere, and even in the Tea Party movement who are acting in exactly the same manner as the drones who voted for Obama in 2008, bought into the “hope and change” rhetoric, and thought life would be all sunshine and rainbows once he was elected.

Last week, in fact, Governor Christie won a straw poll at the Virginia Tea Party Patriots Convention, edging out Sarah Palin. This despite the fact that the governor has, time and time again, shown that he wants nothing to do with the Tea Party folks.

Understandably, the governor has put forth a conservative image even if rarely backed by commensurate action. And he has had a number of YouTube moments that have gone viral fueling his “conservative rock star” persona. Christie’s blunt talk and leadership style embody what many conservatives are craving – and to that extent Christie’s appeal to them makes some sense.

But conservatives pride themselves in being thinkers and rewarding people based on merit and accomplishment.

Last time I checked, New Jersey still had the worst tax climate in the nation, a whopping $173B pension liability according to the Mercatus Institute, and an approximate debt of $46B. There was practically zero private sector job growth in the state over the past decade. And New Jersey has been one of the top states for outward migration as these insufferable fiscal circumstances have driven businesses and residents out.

Perhaps, when these ugly statistics begin to substantially move in the other direction, we can begin to give the governor some credit and then, and only then, begin to give him any consideration whatsoever for the Presidency of the United States.

But until that happens, those who are pushing the idea of Governor Christie in 2012 are not looking for a serious leader. They are merely looking for a “right wing rock star” to serve as an antecdote to the liberal Obama version.

This video is brought to you courtesy of the North Jersey Tea Party group. Michael Agosta might not be the perfect candidate but the fact remains that the dishonest Rothman needs to go.

While in other parts of the country, from Delaware to Alaska, establishment and RINO Republicans are being tossed out on their ear, Bergen County Republicans remain stuck with a candidate for County Executive who bears more of a resemblance to Chris Coons than Christine O’Donnell.

Earlier today, the Sierra Club announced it was endorsing “Republican” Kathe Donovan over incumbent Democrat Dennis McNerney.

Not that you need me to tell you, but the Sierra Club is just a *wee* bit of a far left outfit that pretty much lashes out everyday at…well…modern, industrialized society. To the “greenies” at Sierra, every energy producer is a “polluter.” And the plants that generate the gas and electricity that keep our lights on, power our air conditioners in the heat of the summer, allow us to cook our food, and allow the Sierra enviro-nuts to use the Internet are producers of “dirty energy.”

The Sierra Club endorses Cap & Trade. The Sierra Club opposes “fracking” (which is used to increase oil output from wells). The Sierra Club opposes oil production – period – no matter how unrealistic it is for “alternative energy” sources like solar and wind to supply our energy needs.

There aren’t too many Republicans that would support Sierra’s far left viewpoint on environmental issues.

Kathe Donovan isn’t one of them. Here’s what she had to say about Sierra’s endorsement.

The Sierra Club’s state chapter on Tuesday endorsed Bergen County Clerk Kathleen Donovan in her bid for county executive.

Donovan, a Republican, is challenging incumbent County Executive Dennis McNerney in this November’s election.

“The Sierra Club endorsement is absolutely fabulous to receive,” she said. “I’m very honored.”

New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel said the state chapter usually endorses Democrats, but that Donovan won the endorsement based on her record as a clerk and a former state legislator.

He cited Donovan’s support of state wetlands and recycling laws, as well as her opposition to repealing the county’s Sunday blue laws – a measure that Republican Governor Christie supported. Tittel criticized McNerney for supporting projects such as EnCap, Xanadu and the Overpeck County Park expansion, which has had millions of dollars in cost overruns.

“Honored,” eh? Amazing.

Honestly, it’s too bad. We are on the cusp of a conservative tsunami on November 2nd. Republicans are poised to take the House and possibly the Senate. Likewise, victories will be widespread at the state and local levels.

Bergen Republicans could have looked for a candidate who actually adheres to some basic Republican principles. Instead, they opted for the candidate “with the best chance of winning.” The “red team” defeating the “blue team” is all that matters — even if the candidate they offer up is an uber-RINO who will be no better than the Democrat she might replace. 

Forgive me when I say, “MEH!”

On Saturday, I was able to attend the Glenn Beck “Restoring Honor” Rally at the Lincoln Memorial subsequent to AFP’s Defending the American Dream Summit the day before.

In the past year, I have been to Washington D.C. for three other rallies – all to oppose Obamacare. Thus, the Beck rally was quite a different experience.

Beck coined the rally “Restoring Honor” but it might have been more aptly termed “Restoring God.” The rally lived up to its promise to avoid politics directly. In fact, the rally ended up having more of a sermon-esque quality to it and, quite honestly, I think the religious flavor was a bit over the top.

Like many, I have become a Beck fan over the past months. What I like about Beck is his knowledge of history and piercing understanding of the progressive movement.

The “Restoring Honor” Rally did not play to these Beck qualities. Instead, the message was one of turning to God and trusting in Him to guide us through these rough times. (In fact, if there is a criticism of Beck to offer, if you could call it that, it’s that he is eccentric, dorky, and dare I say innocent.)

Beck continually hit on the themes of Faith, Hope, and Charity which have been the theme of his radio and TV shows all year. Beck presented “badges of merit” to individuals exemplifying each quality, including, to my surprise, Albert Pujols, who earned the Hope award. This was admirable on Beck’s part.

The rally paid homage to our soldiers, with several heroes acknowledged for their service and sacrifice for country and promoted a charity called the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF) which helps pay for the education of children of servicemen who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Again, more than admirable.

The rally also invoked Martin Luther King, while including a speech by his niece Alveda, who courageously stood with Beck despite attacks from the Left. MLK was often cheered when parts of his ”I Have A Dream” speech were shown or references to his legacy were mentioned – hardly the behavior of “right wing racists.” No, MLK’s message of harmony and judging people on the “content of their character” was embraced by those assembled.

But, again, the theme of the “Restoring Honor” Rally kept returning to God.

Conservatives, of course, generally appreciate the Judeo-Christian principles that the nation was built on. Likewise, we understand that the Founders were mostly religious people who believed in a higher being. They also knew that our system of government relied on the morality of the people who would attain public office.

Thus, while Beck’s message wasn’t overtly political, there were clear political implications. After all, if honor need be restored, the question is begged; among whom? And if all the references to the Founders and founding principles, then how can there be no connection to those who currently govern us – particularly those in Congress who have governed for the past year and a half in such a horrendously unethical and dismissive manner?

Ronald Reagan was quoted to have said, “ If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”

Reagan, of course, was correct. But one thing Reagan never did was become overly religious. While Beck’s message is a good one, and generally he is right, I think he would have been better served by presenting it with more subtlety.

Faux conservative Governor Chris Christie came under fire today for the administration’s supposed first gaffe. The big boo boo? An apparent “clerical error” on an application for a federal  “Race To The Top” grant that would have yielded the state $400M in education dollars. Democrats gleefully seized on the faux pas to take some pot shots at the governor. Pure politics, for sure.

Honestly, though, I could care less about the error. No, for me the real error was applying for these funds in the first place.

Frankly, the Governor of New Jersey ought not to be in line begging the federal government for education money. Moreover, a truly conservative governor would not be doing that ala Rick Perry in Texas.

No, a truly conservative governor would champion the end of federal involvement in what should be a state issue – and ultimately one that rests with local school boards and with (GASP!) parents.

Interestingly enough, there was a poll released today of New Jersey high school parents. According to the poll, ”78 percent of parents said the state should spend more money on education.”

When I first saw this result I was a bit shocked. But in thinking about it, I think this is an example of just how successful the liberal education unions have been in persuading parents that the almighty dollar is the be all and end all for their child’s education.

First, it should be noted that New Jersey already spends more than just about every state in the country. Statistics from the 2007-2008 school year show New Jersey second in overall spending behind only New York. 

Certainly, a lot of those dollars got to the 31 Districts formerly known as Abbotts - upwards of $25k per student. But by any measure New Jersey already spends plenty enough per student.

Perhaps, if those parents in non-Abbotts were aware that most of their dollars are redistributed to the 31 Abbotts they’d have a different opinion. But I presume that most of those parents have no idea how they are being taken to the cleaners when it comes to education dollars.

More to the point, though, the real question when tying all of this together is; is there a correlation between dollars spent and educational achievement? Well, according to the CATO Institute the answer to that question is a resounding “NO”.

In a report entitled PUBLIC SCHOOL SPENDING AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT: THE CASE OF NEW JERSEY CATO concludes:

We find no evidence of a positive effect of expenditures on student performance in New Jersey public high schools in urban school districts with smaller per capita tax bases. We also find no evidence of expenditure effects in the other New Jersey school districts. These findings are consistent with most previous research on school expenditures and school achievement.

Money, as it were has little to do with a successfully educated child, and a lot more to do with lining the pockets of educrats.

The only thing a child really needs to learn is a willingness to do so, a decent teacher, and parents that give a hoot.