Tag Archives: Start Local

Reports From the Republican National Convention 2016

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Here are three links for submitted and published newspaper columns leading up to and during the RNC 2016. The convention was an awesome experience. Donald J. Trump was nominated as the Republican nominee along with Indiana Governor, Mike Pence as his Vice-Presidential running mate.

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Sunday, July 17, 2016

July 20, 2016

July 22, 2016

Because I attended the entire Convention I can remark that it was a positive experience and the first big step in unifying the Republican Party in support of our nominee, Donald J. Trump.  I am a Republican and County Chairman, so I supported ALL the candidates throughout the primary. Since the primary ended and Trump emerged as nominee, I have and will support him in winning the Presidency in November.

Ted-Cruz-downcast-200x200There are some holdouts, however, as we saw at the Convention. While I respect everyone’s opinion and right to support Cruz or Kasich, it is past time to support the nominee. Cruz’s speech at the Convention was counterproductive and selfish. The friction between him and Trump has been no secret, but as an alternative, he could have offered his support in a statement such as,

“I have to decided to offer my assistance to OUR nominee, Donald J. Trump, in beating Hillary Clinton in November and ask you to do the same. It is time to put ALL differences aside, turn the other cheek, and win in November. Otherwise, our country will be unrecognizable in four years.” – (what he could have said but didn’t)

But instead Cruz pontificated for 23 minutes touting his values and his father’s struggles, “freedom”, and “liberty”. As for the wide majority of Delegates, Alternate Delegates and Guests I spoke with “disappointment” was an understatement. What, really, will his inability to “put his pride aside” do to move our nation forward or unify as a party? The answer is NOTHING… it was a selfish move.

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Overall the convention was well organized(seamless) and our Delegation was shown tremendous hospitality by the event staff, residents of Cleveland, the Secret Service, and all Law Enforcement. There was little trouble, even with protesters. Michele and I can’t wait to go back 2020 and we highly recommend the experience. I’ll start putting my change in the jar now and maybe I’ll have enough saved in four years!

It’s time to put your game face on folks! We must win this election. The stakes are too high and there will be no forgiveness once Hillary takes the White House. I’m telling you, we will be doomed.

Be sure to watch Dinesh D’souza’s “Hillary’s America” coming soon to theater near you. Click HERE for preview.hillarys-america-movie-private-showing-51

 

Big Event For Kinston! You Don’t Want to Miss This!

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There’s a lot to get excited about in Kinston! Thursday, June 2nd at Olivia’s in historic downtown Kinston we have the opportunity to support our Republican candidates for several Council of State positions and our Judicial Candidates. Most, if not all, of these candidates will be serving you for their respective terms in office after the November general election. This is a chance to meet them right in our own backyard and welcome them to Kinston! 

We welcome special guests NC House Speaker Tim Moore, along with NC House Whip, John Bell and NC Senator Louis Pate, Deputy Pro Tempore.

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You will also have the opportunity to meet and talk with your local  candidates. Stuart Stroud for Superior Court Judge, Chad Rouse for County Commissioner (At-large), Craig Finch for County Commissioner (D4), and Jackie Elwart for Board of Education (D4). 

 

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The venue will include an Open Bar beginning at 6:00 PM with Heavy hors d’oeuvres. Attendees will have an opportunity to meet and talk to each candidate and hear their plan to make North Carolina a better place to live, work, and raise our children.

Those confirmed are Michael LaPaglia for Secretary of State, Senator Buck Newton for Attorney General, Dale R. Folwell, CPA for Treasurer, Chuck Stuber for State Auditor, Mike Causey for Commissioner of Insurance, Judge Richard Dietz (NC Court of Appeals), Judge Bob Hunter (NC Court of Appeals), Valerie Zachary (NC Court of Appeals), Hunter Murphy (NC Court of Appeals), and Phil Berger, Jr. (NC Court of Appeals).

This is Golden opportunity for residents of Kinston/Lenoir County and surrounding Counties to get to know these candidates and let them know what is important to us here in Eastern North Carolina.

All proceeds will be distributed directly to these candidates to help with campaign expenses. There are opportunities, as well, for sponsorship.

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You can pay at the door. $50/person and sponsorship opportunities are available.

We look forward to seeing you Thursday, June 2nd at 6:00 PM at Olivia’s!

Nepotism Defeated ~ Now On To The Real Issues Facing Kinston

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Residents of Kinston scored a big WIN Monday night, February 15th, when the Kinston City Council voted unanimously to reverse the September 8th Nepotism Policy Amendment. The 2015 “Amendment” gave the green light for family of City Council members, including the Mayor, to be hired on with the City of Kinston.

The “Amendment” was force fed to the public by three sitting Council members even though resident and business owner, Logan Thurman presented a petition with over 300 signatures opposing the change. The NAACP voiced concern publicly, as did the Daily News Fix. Even so, the measure passed on September 8th and became a contentious campaign issue.

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See last night’s victory video HERE

For the Daily News Fix it’s on to bigger and better things, more important issues, like getting residents gainfully employed and off welfare and food stamps, shutting down public housing in Kinston and moving residents into affordable housing owned and operated by the private sector.

The Welfare Model was designed as a “hand up”, not a way of life.  But it is now used by Democrats to control minorities and gain votes. Ironically in a town like Kinston where 69% of the population is black, Democrats retain around 86% of the vote. Think about that for a minute…… minorities are enslaved by this model while their personal liberty is stifled.

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The City of Kinston has never in its history elected a Republican to City Council. The first Republican Mayor, BJ Murphy, was elected 6 years ago and now in his second term.

Even though there has never been a Republican on City Council,  Republicans are consistently targeted for any problems Kinston might have.  Let that sink in for a minute…..   Non-partisan elections were “pre-approved” in 2013 by USDOJ after a US Supreme Court lawsuit for the reversal of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Non-partisan elections will help in a town the size of Kinston if we focus less on RACE and more on electing effective diverse representation.  This will only be breached through education and resolve.  During the 2015 municipal election cycle, for the first time ever, the NAACP and the Lenoir County Democrat Party did not endorse candidates in the non-partisan contest. That’s a step in the right direction.

The Nepotism Policy Amendment was the non-partisan issue that created a unique cohesiveness.  As a result, the election was issue-based whereby qualified and effective candidates were elected to office.

Time will tell as to the effectiveness of this new team.  We are delighted they kept their campaign promises to reverse this bad policy.  Now it’s up to you, the residents of Kinston, whether you pay property taxes or not, to get involved in the process.

  • Go to City Council meetings
  • Apply to sit on a Board or Commission (an eye opening experience)
  • Contact your Council members and ask questions on the issues important to you

NOW, let’s get to work!

A “Free” Education On Losing Our Liberty

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The leftist progressives and their POTUS Puppet, B. Hussein Obama, are gearing up in a big way for 2016.  Mid January you can expect a few major assaults our 2nd Amendment rights.

Emperor Obama will issue a decree across the lands (by executive order) that everyone “in the business” of selling firearms will be required to perform background checks. Federally licensed dealers are already required to run background checks through the FBI….. but what if Johnny wants to sell Sally a handgun or by some other private means?  Roughly 40% of the guns in America are currently bought and sold privately.

Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is all for making it more difficult to exercise our 2nd Amendment rights. Obama aims to go out with a bang and push this agenda to the hilt. He’ll be remembered as not only the worst President fiscally, driving our national debt over 19 Trillion before leaving office, but also the most abusive when it comes to trashing our Constitutional rights.  He just doesn’t respect the our founding documents, the SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND.  He has no regard whatsoever for the citizens of the United States….. none. The National Rifle Association (NRA) believes that this or any move to further the gun control effort will eventually lead to confiscation or banning certain weapons and ammunition.

But anyone paying attention is aware of the invalidity of this liberal argument for gun control. Taking guns from law-abiding citizens doesn’t curb crime.  It makes us more vulnerable. We have posted statistic after statistic to prove death by firearm is pretty low on the totem pole of societal problems. The key word in gun control is CONTROL.

Take away the common man’s means of protection and the government has complete control of the common man.  And that’s what this is really about. 

California just passed legislation that will go into effect January 1, 2016 making it very easy to seize your guns by court order.  Here’s a likely scenario:

Kevin owns some weapons. His teenage son wants to borrow the car and Kevin says no since he’s failing High School and should be home studying. Kevin’s son decides to get back at Dad because the LAW (see here) now gives him that latitude.  He calls the cops and says, “I feel unsafe…. my Dad has a gun in the house and…. I feel unsafe”.  So a judge authorizes law enforcement to confiscate all Kevin’s weapons for a minimum of 21 days.  Kevin is treated like a criminal instead of a conscientious parent. He is forced to spend a lot of money on attorney fees to defend himself and restore his good name.  The value of the guns confiscated is less than the cost of fighting the State. The State wins and the guns are destroyed.

Now back to the Executive Order…….One problem with this whole thing is that Obama’s Executive Order isn’t really law at all. Congress makes law, not the POTUS.  The second problem is the majority of our society has no interest or concern as to what the POTUS can or can’t do…… as long as they keep getting “Free Stuff”.  Many of us know there is no such thing as FREE STUFF and we DO CARE about our rights being taken.  The third problem is that Hillary is going to win the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. She’s coming after our guns because, as mentioned, she will then have  total control over our behavior and our 1st Amendment rights.

We live in a society where the majority of the population are TAKERS NOT GIVERS. We have become slowly conditioned to accept the bastardization of this great Nation our fathers and grandfathers fought for so we might be free.  We really don’t know what it’s like to have our Liberty taken away from us.  Remember, Liberty comes from God, not man.  Be prepared to fight to keep it.  If Hillary Clinton wins in 2016 or Congress goes to the Democrats we’ll all get a FREE EDUCATION on the LOSS OF PERSONAL LIBERTY!

 

 

Becoming The Protectors

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dailynewsfix imageWe just caught a portion of a live commentary on Fox News by Judge Jennine Perino after exiting the movie “The Mocking Jay, Part 2”. The movie was pretty good.

If your not familiar with this series, “The Hunger Games”, it involves a struggle for freedom in a futuristic setting in the wake of a dictatorship. Great movies. Check them out.

Anyway, the Judge was laying it down, “shucking some corn” as my friend Jackie would say.  I like her, generally, but this time she was playing on ignorance and fear when it comes to protecting ourselves from terrorist attacks like ISIS.

What I took exception to was her reactionary suggestion that we further “weaponize our police” to better protect all of us. Ummm…. Red Flag sister, er… Judge!

She alluded to the San Bernardino massacre that was obviously a radical Islamic terror attack. She thinks they were running around like keystone cops. Maybe they were but the Militarization of our police force as a reaction to these ISIS cues plays right into the progressive liberal “gun control” narrative. Are we really that scared and stupid?

This administration is looking to capitalize on incidents like San Bernadino. We have Muslims in the Whitehouse like Valerie Jarret (she runs things, not Barry) that capitalize on your fear.

Right after militarization of our police is confiscation of our weapons. You say no?  We say gun confiscation is eminent if we allow government to grow and our Constitutional 2nd Amendment rights to erode. The 2nd Amendment protects us from a rogue government. It keeps our 1st Amendment rights intact, especially our right to religious freedoms.

Bottom line ~ Our right to protect ourselves and our family is inalienable, of God not man. It shall not be infringed.

We don’t need to further weaponize police in this country.  We need to protect our borders, reject Syrian refugees, and teach our kids and family how to be proficient with a weapon, basic self defense. Teach them how not to be victims.

We must dilute our need to be protected by becoming the protectors. 

 

And They’re Off!…. Candidates Jockey For Lead In Non-Partisan City Council Debate

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In a refreshing candidate forum held tonight at St. Augustus AME Zion Church in Kinston, eight(8) candidates for City Council gave their views on how to lead this town of around 20,000. With three(3) seats up for grabs and two incumbents trying to hold onto their seats the forum exposed each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.  Like any candidate forum, there were varying degrees of preparedness and understanding of exactly how a municipality functions.

This was the Second Non-Partisan Municipal election in Kinston since Attorney General Eric Holder pre-cleared Kinston for non-partisan elections after an extensive lawsuit for the reversal of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act.  See SCOTUS lawsuit Nix v. Holder.  It was pleasing to see a shift in thinking and public consensus.  This debate was hosted by the Kinston-Lenoir County NAACP, a non-partisan group.  The NAACP will not endorse any candidate(s).  It is also reported the Democratic Party will follow suit in not endorsing.  

The same three(3) questions asked of each candidate.  The candidates were:

1) Michael Davis  a Vietnam Veteran   2) Sammy Aiken  incumbent (retired Navy)  3)Gordon Vermillion  business owner & past two term City Councilman  4) Tharol Branch  native Kinstononian  5) Felicia Solomon  former Lenoir County Schools principal  6)  Kelly Jarman  Lenoir County Schools administrator and incumbent  7)  Steve Ragan   Weyerhauser employee and Planning Board member 8)  Lennie Peterson  US Army veteran & Ex School Bus driver

Queston #1 – City Council recently voted to allow family members of Council members and the Mayor to be hired.  Will you vote to reinstate the Nepotism Policy?  If Yes, why.  If No, why.

Six candidates stated they were opposed to this recent action except Kelly Jarman and Michael Davis.  Michael Davis stated he was concerned his children wouldn’t be able to work for the City.  Jarman defended and justified her unpopular voting record on this issue by stating the School System and Military have similar policies, only 30% of the population in Kinston have college degrees so we need to keep jobs opportunities available, and nepotism will increase our tax base.  (This reasoning both confounds and contradicts)

Question #2 – Public Safety Chief Johnson is retiring. What should be done with Public Safety?  (Admittedly the question was misleading and vague.  There has been talk of hiring a Police Chief and a Fire Chief in lieu of one Public Safety Director)

All candidates gave a clear and concise answer and agreed City Council should seek out and hire separate department heads and hire a well qualified Police Chief due to the serious crime problems Kinston is experiencing  except incumbent Kelly Jarman.  She touted the excellent job our current police are doing and public education programs but stated separating the departments would depend on “who we find” to replace Johnson.

Question #3 – What do you foresee for change in Kinston to make it a better place to live and work?  (This was a vague open-ended question.  But there was some common ground with the answers)

Peterson struggled initially but eventually stated we needed jobs and address crime. Ragan connected the fact that our crime issues have a negative effect on our business climate and the desire for industry, businesses, and families to come to Kinston and stay in Kinston.  He stated the only way for us to solve this issue will be a Unifed Effort putting partisan politics aside.   Incumbent Jarman stated our lower utility rates, the promise of baseball coming back to town, the coming Land Use Plan, Queen Street revitalization and enforcing the Unified Development Ordinance will make us better.  Solomon wants us to work together and invoke community responsibility.   She stated we have the “right people at the right time” to solve Kinston’s woes.  Branch stated we need a change in leadership, claimed current leadership has destroyed much African-American historical structures and built an entrance to a Confederate Cemetery after tearing down a popular pool hall.  He charged the Board of Elections with continuing racism and  Jim Crow laws.  Vermillion spoke of his two term experience, the fact that we were the only two time All American City in the country, downtown revitalization and the increase in tourism.  He sees a bright future for Kinston.  Aiken spoke solely of eliminating crime.  Davis wants to change the way we think, educate everyone on gangs, change our entire leadership and stated we are failing as a City and as a people.

After viewing this debate and how these candidates fielded the questions, there is no doubt the “Nepotism issue” could be a deciding factor.  See “One Issue Could Decide Council Race”.   You need to decide for yourself.  Please continue to follow future debates and look for the traditional PodCasts on www.Kinston.com this Thursday with Bryan Hanks and his crew.  We’ll continue to bring you up to date news on the www.dailynewsfix.org.  Use the Subscribe feature to have the “Fix” delivered to your inbox when published.

 

 

One Issue Could Decide Council Race

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October 22, 2015 begins One Stop or “early voting” for municipal elections in Lenoir County, NC.  There’s one race that peaks my interest, maybe because it’s so close to home and the outcome will  continue to affect my wallet, my business, my investments, my family, and my way of life as a taxpaying resident of Kinston.  Eight(8) candidates will vie for three(3) seats on the Kinston City Council.  This race has my full attention and for good reason.

Several weeks ago Councilman Wynn Whittington brought an issue to the council floor. He made HIS problem OUR problem.  His brother had applied for a job and was turned down due to his the City’s  nepotism policy.  He wanted to examine the policy for fairness, and through a series of motions and votes the policy was amended three weeks later to the public’s dismay.  I exposed these shenanigans in earlier blog(s) BLOG #1  BLOG#2 and Kinston Free Press column.

Even with over 300 citizens signatures on a petition calling for a NO vote on the amendment, Whittington, Kelly Jarman, and Joe Tyson pushed it through.  Joe Tyson will not run again, Whittington will continue in his elected role for at least two more years, but Kelly Jarman is the lone incumbent in this three seat race to be decided on November 3rd.

Jarman is the wife of Lenoir County Manager, Mike Jarman.  She also serves on the Kinston-Lenoir County Parks and Recreation Commission, a City/County funded board.  This conflict of interest and form of nepotism was pointed out in a news column a few weeks ago in which she was asked to resign from that commission – Read HERE.

Cast an educated vote!  Tuesday, October 13th, the NAACP will be holding a debate at St. Augustus Church, 318 E. North St., Kinston, NC from 6:30PM – 8:00 PM.  Reportedly all candidates will attend.  I feel certain one of the questions will focus on the “Nepotism Policy Amendment”.  If not, they will have missed the mark. Within this one issue lies the key to effective leadership by an elected official ~ Listening to the Will of the People and acting accordingly. 

Each candidate will also have an opportunity to sign a  pledge introduced by resident Logan Thurman at the October 2nd City Council meeting.  The Pledge states that if elected the first order of business will be to reverse this misguided policy change.   We’ll report an eyewitness account of this debate and where these candidates stand on this most important single issue and!  Stay tuned….

 

Coming Home To What Matters Most

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Sometimes it’s good to come back home.  It’s good to take stock of what really matters in the long run.  Things like “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”, concepts such as our liberty and our rights are granted by God, not man, that these states of the United States of America are sovereign and the federal government is not beholden to other nations.  With the threat of world terror by radical Islamic groups, it may help to know that Islam is an ideology not a religion.  This ideology has evil elements and comes with and instruction booklet, the Quran.

So here are a  few things to come back home to:

God and family are most important yet we will have neither lest we fend off the continued attack from the liberal progressive left.  My ancestors and perhaps yours relinquished themselves from the tyrannical rule of the King of England almost 240 years ago, shedding their blood for us.  Since then over a million men (women included) have died in battle defending the United States of America from attacks from outside and within our borders.  The Constitution of the United States of America is still the Supreme Law of the Land yet we have endured an administration over the last seven (7) years that has bastardized and disregarded our Constitution as rubbish.  Barack Obama has most openly, aggressively and arrogantly forced his socialist lies on the American people more so than any other President in the history of these United States of America.  He has increased the national debt more than all his predecessors combined since  the inception of this country.  But you can do your part to combat the assault.

The best way to affect change is locally.  Battles are won in your own back yard.  Thick skin is required and when you stand on principle you can’t lose.  The 1st Amendment is our best friend while the 2nd Amendment protects us from a tyrannical government.  This 2016 election cycle is pretty darned important but so is 2015.   The impact from the outcome of local races are felt the most.  School boards, City Councils and other elected  posts affect us where we are.   Get involved today.   Run for local office or help a conservative win an elected post.  We’re depending on you.

“Never surrender your rights, Never give up, Never shut up, and keep getting up!” ~ John Nix and the Daily News Fix