So here is a scary thought: Will Americans forget about 9/11? Will BBQ’s and fireworks become the trend in memorializing the 2,819 who were killed at the hand of terrorists?

I ask your opinions because I came home on September 11^th to my music filled apartment complex. I could smell the burgers and hotdogs on the grill and I watched as a gathering of 20 something’s celebrating outside. Maybe I am a little confused and a little upset because I remembered how scared I was at 15 years old learning of the attacks. How hard it was to comprehend that war was on our front door steps. Then our Country went to war and for those in my generation who enlisted nearly four years later, it was their opportunity to defend our Nation. I am a part of the 9/11 generation that spent our adolescents hearing about the war every day in the news. There is a difference between the 9/11 Generation and those who are about ten years older. They grew up in days where the longest war coverage on the news lasted only a few months. The 9/11 Generation are  the men and women who joined knowing that they would at some point be deployed into the middle east to fight a war that first started when they were in middle school and who knows when it would be over. We watched friends go off to defend our great Nation; some have returned, others still fight and then there are those who made the ultimate sacrifice. So why am I looking out my window at a group of adults no older than me enjoying a cold beer, music and burgers on day marked by mourning.

…but I could be wrong, maybe they are celebrating Grandparents day.

We must never forget

In this case we cannot blame law makers for wasteful spending. The NIH is allocated a budget each year and they choose how to spend those taxpayer monies. We are constantly calling for our legislators to be fiscally responsible, why can’t we also ask each agency and department to do the same.

“To better understand how and why information spreads online, we intend to develop a framework that allows us to apply the same analytical methods to a broad variety of data feeds, including Twitter, Google Buzz, Google , Yahoo! Meme, and Facebook,” said Filippo Menczer, who joins Alessandro Flammini, Alessandro Vespignani and Johan L. Bollen as IU Bloomington School of Informatics and Computing professors serving as principal investigators on the grant. “We expect that this new computational framework will offer an unprecedented level of data interoperability for the real-time analysis of a social media data stream on the order of millions of posts each day.”

Apparently when the Federal Government is already $14 Trillion in debt, what is another million dollars? If you want to “understand how and why information spreads online” then take a look at the Tweets on Twitter during the Iranian election. Social media allows for fast communication.  By a touch of the send key, I can reach at minimum of 2,500 people and those friends can reach their friends. Social Media is easier then writing a lengthy letter and then waiting a couple days for it to be received and then finally read. Rapid response, instant communication, connecting…I didn’t need a million tax payer dollars to solve this mystery.

The NY Post reported yesterday that Pennsylvanians on public assistance these days now have the right to a cellphone. Of course the Federal Government is responsible for this egregious program called the Universal Service Fund. The good news for those leaching off the government, the Universal Service Fund will allow you a brand spanking new cell phone and 250 minutes a month. The telecommunications companies are footing the 4 billion dollar bill.

Do we really think that cell phone companies are giving away free service from the bottom of their hearts? Nope, cell phone providers around the Country will be passing the tab onto their paying clients. This is yet another ridiculous handout that is not a right nor a necessity but a luxury. I must have missed the free cell phone service clause in the Constitution, could someone please direct me?

Read the NY Post Article on Cell Phones being a Civil Right  & make sure to leave your comments below!

So here is how the conversation went:

HER: “I’ve lost all faith in him for the mere fact that he’s cutting education funds from a state that ranks 47 in education.”
My Rebuttal: “[Name has been removed]: It is safe to assume that you have done your research and are well versed on the topic of Governors Scotts budget cuts, prior to making such a blanket and public statement.
Governor Scott has cut the budget tremendously and I comm…end him. He has taken steps to cut 7% of all State Jobs, has asked Government employees to pay 5% into their retirement like private sector employees do, he has cut the business tax from 5.5% to 3%- making Florida open for business and encouraging out of State companies to make the move here (the first being Bing Energy).
In part of the Governors 7-7-7 plan, he promised to create 700,000 jobs in the next 7 years with 7 steps. One of those steps covers education and the need for us to create a stronger workforce so that when companies like Bing Energy move to Florida there is a workforce they can hire. We find fiscal irresponsibility in many Government agencies and that is the reason for most of the budget cuts. The Governor proposes a voucher program which will broaden school choice. It’s important to remember that cuts to the education budget do not correlate with better or worse education. In fact instead of students being the driving force behind education, it is the teachers unions and we have seen frivolous spending that does not benefit the students.
So the point here is that budget cuts to Education in no way means that that our education system will worsen as your statement has suggested, it means that those who oversee the budgets in each county will be held accountable for their spending habits.
Feel free to send me a Direct Message if you wish to continue the conversation in how Governor Scott is putting Florida back to work.”
HER: “I’m well aware of that but when there is less money in county that means that the teachers get paid less and there is less funding for the schools. Not to mention the fact that there will be teacher layoffs, which means more students stuffed inside of already-overpopulated classrooms. Is that really for the greater benefit of the students? So many of them are already falling through the cracks because there’s not enough money. Reducing the budget is simply not the answer for meeting the educational needs of students. Voucher programs are already in place for D and F schools that have been that way for 3 or more years and have been for quite some time.”
My Rebuttal: “The point you made defends my statements that the outrage on cutting the budget is not student driven but teacher drive, so thank you for defending my position.
The budget cuts will most definitely eliminate teacher tenure which is where a lot of outrage is stemming from. Unfortunately if you are poor quality teacher, your job will not be safe. Again the budget cut also reflects the state pension cut, teachers will be required to pay into their retirement just like many other Floridians…those two factors alone saves the State a lot of money and drastically shrinks the budget.
Teacher layoffs are not needed, if tenure and pensions are reformed. The statement is rather an over-dramatization of what is being asked. It is time for our school boards to make smart fiscal decisions and for us in South Florida the perfect example is Broward County School Board where the Grand Jury has found that the Broward County School Board has “wasted hundreds of millions” in a multimillion dollar fraud spree. I am sure you are well aware of this issue as it has been a hot topic in the news for a while now. It only justifies cutting the budget and asking the school boards to re-examine their spending.
Like I mentioned earlier… if you wish to continue this debate with me further as I am very well versed on the issue please feel free to direct message me.”

Defriended but not before she went back and deleted her liberalocracy comments.

This past Monday at the Broward REC meeting I unveiled the Broward GOP Insider. I am proud to say that we are one of the first counties in the State to have created such a tool where we can take control of our own message.  From this point forward residents in Broward can visit our blog and hear the conservative perspective on topics ranging from local news to issues breaking around the world. Readers can engage on our blog by commenting on articles, watching videos and viewing pictures from different events in the County.

We have taken the steps to make a renewed commitment to communicating the message of the Republican Party and I encourage each of you to take a moment to visit the site at www.browardgopinsider.com

Staffers around the Country on both sides of the aisle deal with a high demand of yard signs from volunteers and supporters alike. To be honest there is no harm in wanting to show your support for your candidate or to let your neighbors know where you stand. The true danger lies when campaigns and volunteers get side tracked with yard sign wars and I too am guilty. I cringe when I think how many hours I spent sending volunteers out to cover streets, or the energy wasted in trying to find the person who stole my signs (thank you Department of Transportation) because there is one simple truth here, yard signs don’t win elections.

We can waste our time covering every inch of Federal Highway and every major intersection in the County and all this does is keep us from our mission. We volunteered to win the election so why not spend all that energy and talk to every voter possible, personal interaction is what persuades potential voters not my ability to put out more signs.

Let me end with a real life story…

Terry McAuliffe was the Co-Chairman for President Clinton’s re-election campaign and Hillary’s 2008 campaign. He also led the Democratic Party as the DNC Chairman from 2001-2005, so it is safe to say that Terry knows a little something about campaigning. In 2009 he decided to run for Governor of Virginia and his strategy was to spend every penny on yard signs. In the end the former leader of the Democratic Party couldn’t even successfully get past his Primary to even be a contender for the gubernatorial seat but people surely knew his name. Click here to watch a short youtube video to see just how many yard signs Terry purchased!

Your thoughts?