Tag Archive for ‘Sunday With Ferris’

Sunday with Ferris

Back Channels: There’s Cause for Optimism:

Thanks to two Joes and a Sarah (ed note: and a Skye)

‘Stand up, stand up, stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here. We never give up. We never quit. We never hide from history. We make history.”

That was part of John McCain’s closing remarks in speeches across Pennsylvania and the country last week.

It’s a great applause line. When he used a version of it during his acceptance speech in St. Paul, Minn., last month, you couldn’t hear him on the convention floor with all the yelling and cheering going on.

The same happens at every one of McCain’s rallies. I would have loved to experience the energy on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center during McCain’s acceptance speech. Not all of us were as fortunate as Ferris to have the credentials to sit with the delegates. Some of us were dragooned in the cheap seats at the Xcel Center. Not that I’m complaining at all, as it was a rare privilege to be part of history in the making – and I did without the use of taxpayer dollars. Further down in the article is this gem:

One Joe, The Plumber, was able to do in one brief encounter with Obama what the McCain camp had been unable to do for months: focus on the Democratic candidate’s “spread the wealth” philosophy of taxation.

“Joe the Plumber represents everybody,” Cindy McCain said. “It’s all about America and just being able to make a life, keep your home, provide for your children. You can’t do that with higher taxes and a government health-care system that’s going to cost all of us in the end.”

You can see for yourself the disaster that awaits us with a government health care system – check out the now defunct The Keiki (child) Care program

Cato-at-liberty neatly sums up the disaster:

Barack Obama’s health plan promises much of the same. He would force people to pay more for health coverage, even if they found little value in the added expense. He would waste taxpayer dollars on people who can already afford coverage on their own. He would draw millions into government health programs that would threaten their access to care. (you think it is difficult to get a doctor’s appointment now….)

And if in 10 years some nasty Republicans yank your family’s health care, we would have Barack Obama to thank.

Lets get real about ‘spreading the wealth’ ideology espoused by Obama and his supporters. This past summer, Philadelphia experienced a taste of how our wealth will be spread by Obama and his gang.

Our good Mayor Nutter (D) invited his family and 5 city employees to join him at the Democrat National Convention in Denver, Co. The mayor paid for his expenses by dipping into his campaign warchest, the city employees were covered using TAX PAYER DOLLARS. When questioned about the use of this money the mayor deferred to Joan Markman, the mayor’s chief integrity officer, who sanctioned using public funds to pay for Nutter’s travel as well as the staffers’. That would be my tax dollars paying for their vacation in Denver. All the while, I had to pay my own way to the RNC convention, I had no ability to appropriate tax dollars for my trip.

A Mayor caught dipping into the tax payer cookie jar uses his own integrity officer to proclaim the validity of the appropriation of the money. This is what ‘Spreading the Wealth’ looks like, and it does NOT benefit the poor and middle class; only a politician and their friends and family.

You can read the rest of the article HERE

Posted on October 26, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday with Ferris

Back Channels: Steadfast and Courageous

When Joe Lieberman talks about courage, people pay attention.

For good reason. There’s probably been no greater act of political courage in recent years than the appearance of the Democrat-turned-Independent at the Republican convention in support of his friend John McCain. And it took guts to repeatedly refuse to vote with Democrats on an Iraq withdrawal timeline.

Lieberman has paid a price for his stands, and more paybacks could come in January from Democrats in the Senate. But this month, his focus is on Nov. 4, backing McCain in media appearances and at rallies in battleground states.

(…)

Lieberman’s conclusion:

“The different approach between Senators McCain and Obama could not be more stark,” Lieberman said. “McCain was not just right, but courageous. He went against public opinion in the middle of a presidential campaign.”

Lieberman’s experience resounds with the democrat who writes on this blog. At the RNC convention, I experienced condescension followed by derision from media-ites when I told them I was a Dem blogger supporting McCain/Palin. However, I never let the bastids get me down, and the experience of attending a convention was something I will never forget.

Who ever said the right thing to do will always be the popular thing to do….NO ONE!

Don Bendell finds a Kryptonite Analogy for McCain:

Senator John McCain who is known, even by his enemies to never break his word, has stated emphatically that he will as President initiate a spending freeze on all but the most critical fed-spending his first year in office, will veto any and every bill with any pork barrel spending added to it and make its author famous for proposing it, and will cut even more taxes, thus creating jobs.

On the other hand, Senator Obama says the same mantra that every democrat has ever campaigned on, that he will give massive tax breaks to the middle class. People still believe the line even after Jimmy Carter, LBJ, and others. With us in a horrible recession, Senator Obama has spoken about spending lots of money, and his hidden little tip-off words when he speaks also indicate spending even more than he lets on, and his record alone shows he will. He is the rated as the most liberal person in the US Congress. That is based on his actual performance, not his words.

….

He and we would be better off if he pursued the career he seems best suited for, “America’s finest used car salesman.” No kidding; Nobama.

Yeah, it is all about this issues for people voting Obama…

Posted on October 19, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday with Ferris

Kevin Ferris continues recounting the experience in Iraq in his latest edition of Back Channels:

How To Stop Creating Extremists

This is one focus of the surge ignored by the MSM and anti-war groups bent on losing Iraq.

Detainees were mixed together, whether jihadis caught red-handed, someone who agreed to guard al-Qaeda weapons for money, or innocents caught up in security sweeps. In the camps, the extremists took over. They would recruit, indoctrinate and train others for their cause, punishing those who didn’t cooperate.

Under Stone’s leadership, camps began separating al-Qaeda from those deemed lesser risks. The evaluations are conducted by coalition staff, as well as local imams, teachers and counselors. Reading, vocational and religion programs were begun to help detainees safely reintegrate into society.

At Camp Cropper, the results of two of their programs are on display: the “Cropper Camel,” a homemade stuffed animal often presented by graduates of the sewing class to family members during camp visits, as well as paintings by detainees who have joined the art program.

All detainees are invited to join the classes, though al-Qaeda members refuse, officers at Cropper say.

Stone said he found that once some detainees could read the Quran for themselves and discuss it with moderate imams, they learn how Islam is being distorted by the extremists.

“Then they start to say, ‘I’ve been lied to,’ ” Stone said, “and now they want to get out and get back to their family.”

Posted on October 12, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday with Ferris

Skye & Steele

Back Channels: Don’t Cry Racism If Obama Loses

I usually cut and post the most pertinent parts of the Back Channel column for your perusal, however, the whole darn article is relevant. I present to my readers the article as printed in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

By Kevin Ferris
Inquirer Columnist

What a strange country.

Last month, one of our two major political parties nominated an African American as its candidate for president of the United States.

Historic progress to be celebrated?

Apparently not. A few weeks and polls later, and some are already bemoaning the rampant racism that might keep a black man from ascending to the presidency.

Hey, Barack Obama could not have clinched the nomination without votes from white Americans. The other party isn’t supposed to just concede the election based on skin color. Voters shouldn’t have to choose based on race when they disagree on issues or believe a candidate isn’t up to the job.

But expect to see the bemoaners looking to the heavens and saying, “We’re not ready.”

Baloney. Maybe it’s Obama who’s not ready and the people who recognize that – men and women, whites and blacks, Hispanics and Asians – are just fine.

There was no racial angst when three black Republicans fell short in statewide races in 2006. No “Shame on you, America” when Ken Blackwell and Lynn Swann lost for governor in Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively, and Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele was defeated in his U.S. Senate race.

Republicans and conservatives don’t count on the racial scorecard?

They should, because they put the lie to the claim that people won’t vote for a candidate because of race. That includes Republicans and conservatives. Even people in Pennsylvania’s infamous “T,” the much-derided region between Philly and Pittsburgh.

All three black men lost decisively in 2006. Swann’s and Blackwell’s opponents won with 60 percent of the vote, Steele’s with 54 percent. Swann was an untested political newcomer. Blackwell’s party at the state level was embroiled in corruption scandals. The three ran in the worst year for Republicans since 1974.

Was race the deciding factor in these unsuccessful campaigns? Probably not. Look at how mixed the CNN exit-polling data are.

Blackwell had twice run successfully statewide, but he was beaten badly in ’06, losing almost across the board, regardless of voters’ race, economic status or religion. He took only 40 percent of the white vote.

Steele, who had also won statewide before, did considerably better, winning 50 percent of the overall white vote. He took 54 percent of the white male vote, 46 percent of the white female vote, 63 percent of the white Protestant vote and 58 percent of the white Catholic vote.

Closer to home, Swann received 43 percent of the white vote, 46 percent of the white male vote, and 40 percent of the white female vote. He lost white Catholics 42 percent to 58 percent, but won white Protestants, 56 to 44.

Among African American voters, Steele won 25 percent; Blackwell, 20 percent; Swann, 13 percent.

Swann won some rural and upstate Republican counties, but was crushed in the southeast. He lost Philadelphia 89.4 percent to 10.6 percent.

What, 89 percent of Philadelphians don’t like black guys?

Or is it that they couldn’t support a candidate – who happened to be black – whose resume didn’t measure up to the office he sought?

Maybe they just disagreed with Swann on the issues?

Some counties in the “T” were willing to elect a black candidate with no governing experience who they trusted on abortion, guns, taxes, limited government.

The southeast wouldn’t elect a conservative black candidate with no executive experience. And the world shrugged. No deluge of racial angst, no peering into America’s troubled soul.

How about giving voters in 2008 the same consideration?

Don’t assume racism if people question Obama on the company he keeps: a 20-year membership in a church where anti-American rhetoric was spewed and then sold in the gift shop; boosting his political career from the home of an unrepentant domestic terrorist from the ’60s.

Don’t assume racism because voters don’t think a junior senator with great potential but no major accomplishments is ready to be leader of the Free World and a wartime commander in chief.

Don’t assume racism if voters question his military acumen. Yes, a 16-month drawdown of forces looks doable – now. But to get to the point where winning seemed possible, others had to make tough decisions on troop levels and strategy. In the meantime, Obama glibly sang the same tune for years, even when his plan would have meant certain victory for al-Qaeda in Iraq.

Yes, it’s a strange country, but Americans have shown they will vote for the person they believe is ready for the job, the one who will best represent their interests, regardless of race. Don’t blame them if Obama loses. Blame his poor judgment and lack of experience.

This column on race and politics reminded me of an encounter at the Atlanta International Airport as I traveled home from the RNC Convention.

Friday, September 5th:

With a 4 hour layover till my flight leaves for Philadelphia, I busied myself with video and photo editing of the recent RNC Convention. I happen to look up and catch the eye of a precocious 5 year old boy. He is a mixed race child that inherited all that is beautiful from both his parents – a white mother and black father. As I and other passengers were being entertained by this joyful little boy, I overheard his father in a discussion with a white woman surrounded by her children. I’m not one to eavesdrop, but the man was speaking right next to me, and what I heard gave me goosebumps.

He stated his support for John McCain over Obama was due to the social issues that Obama and the DNC support. He did not want our country to devolve into a mess with no value system.

This was spoken by a black father of a mixed race child. Obviously, he does not view race as divisive and does not want his son to grow up in country that puts race above unity. Guess what, neither do I. I’m voting for McCain/Palin so this man’s son can grow up secure in who he is as a person, and not have his outlook colored by the culture of racial politics.

Posted on September 14, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday with Ferris

Back Channels: Pelosi Needs To Follow The Tip:

‘The speaker of the House I most admire is Tip O’Neill. Despite their differences, he was able to work in a bipartisan way with President Reagan to save Social Security. This was possible because they were both willing to listen and to compromise.”
So says Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her new book Know Your Power: A Message to America’s Daughters, a tome as thin as her record in Congress. Pelosi spent the last three weeks promoting her book in stores around the country and on cable gabfests.

Ironically, she couldn’t get out of Washington fast enough last month for fear of being run down by the bipartisan “Let’s Drill Express.” Pelosi is well aware that if it comes to a vote, Democrats will join Republicans in supporting a package that calls for offshore drilling, developing U.S. shale oil resources, expanding nuclear power, constructing new refineries, and promoting energy-efficient buildings and vehicles and alternative-energy production.

You can read the rest of the article HERE

Additional notes regarding safety: Spill Statistics and Summary 1996- 2008

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Spill Estimates:

Posted on August 17, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday With Ferris

Photo taken August 2, 2008 at an undisclosed Sunoco Gas Station in Philadelphia.

Back Channels: On energy, Dems in office means a return to the 1970′s

We are not talking terry leisure suits, Studio 54, and Disco. We are talking about Americans lining up at the gas pump, dealing with high prices and restrictions on when they could purchase gas. Back in the day, one could only buy gas based upon the last number of your license plate, an even number meant you could only buy gas on even numbered days, the same applied to odd numbers. How screwed were you if you were an even number and ran out of gas on an odd numbered day? According to a local expert on this – Mom – “People were lined up and mad as hell” about this situation.

Last week’s energy debate in Congress gives voters concerned about gasoline prices a good idea where U.S. energy policy is headed. If Barack Obama is in the White House, Democrats win a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and Nancy Pelosi has fewer pesky Republicans to ignore in the House, this will be energy rule No. 1:

Forget more drilling. Offshore. Alaska. Doesn’t matter.

Then step two, let slip by an unidentified Democratic aide recently in The Hill newspaper: “Right now, our strategy on gas prices is, ‘Drive small cars and wait for the wind.’ ”

In other words, suck it up, gas-guzzlers. Break out the Carter-era sweaters and hair shirts, turn down the thermostats this winter, and let the drill bits rust. Policies of the 1970s are good enough for the 21st century.

Let’s not develop our own native resources – oil, coal and nuclear – let the average citizen cut back to bare bones while Pelosi travels in military aircraft, and the big O travels around in the O Plane o’ Change.

In the great state of PA, elected officials have made questionable statements on our energy crisis. Rep. Sestak (D-PA), when recently questioned about his stance on our energy crisis, he spitted vemonously about his facts, unwilling to see a bigger picture. Craig Williams, republican candidate for Sestak’s seat, recently returned from Alaska provides some answers instead of spittle. Ferris deftly outlines both strategies in the following exchange:

And that’s where the consensus ends. You see the differences from the presidential campaign to the local races, including Pennsylvania’s Seventh District, with Democratic freshman Rep. Joe Sestak against Republican Craig Williams.

Both candidates rightly recognize there are short- and long-term solutions to the energy crisis. Both are correct that a mix of energy sources is needed. They differ on drilling.

Sestak is unequivocal about the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge on his campaign Web site – “prohibit drilling” – but in interviews says he’d consider more drilling if oil companies can satisfactorily answer some questions:

Why open up more areas to drilling if 68 million acres in already leased lands aren’t in production?

If the goal is to help reduce prices, what’s the practicality of drilling in ANWR when its oil wouldn’t be available for a decade, and when that oil would have little impact on prices (he quotes government estimates of 1.8 cents a gallon by 2025)?

The debate should be about relief to consumers, not producers, Sestak says.

“My job is not to make profits larger although I care about a healthy oil industry,” Sestak says. “My job is to take care of my constituents.”

Williams has just returned from Alaska and suggests some answers that might nudge Sestak and his colleagues into the more-drilling camp:

Companies are ready to drill more on leased lands, particularly in the Alaskan National Petroleum Reserve, which was set aside in the 1920s specifically for oil exploration. What’s the holdup? One problem is lawsuits by environmentalists, Williams says.

That 10-year window before oil production begins? Williams says that time can be almost halved if Congress streamlines the leasing process and cuts other pre-drilling red tape – without sacrificing environmental protections.

And Williams dismisses the notion that more oil production will not lower gasoline prices: “When people say this will have only a nominal impact on prices, that’s saying we don’t have to do anything at all.”

Keep two things in mind, Williams advises. One, ANWR estimates are based on decades-old studies, and sites often produce considerably more oil than anticipated. Two, news drives future markets, and oil prices have already dipped since the lifting of the presidential moratorium on offshore drilling. Imagine the change if Congress committed itself to an energy package that includes drilling for oil, nuclear power, natural gas, clean-burning coal and renewables.

Obviously, much education is needed on this critical issue facing modern America. Voters can become more educated on our energy options: McCain Lexington Project, as soon as the O campaign sticks to one energy plan, I’ll post it here.

Posted on August 03, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday With Ferris

Back Channels: Fighter with Principle

This article is from last Sunday, I’ve been busy this week and have not had the opportunity till now to post on this Back Channel memorial to Tony Snow.

Fans of Tony Snow, laid to rest on Thursday, had any number of chances to see the beauty of his soul, whether as an eloquent host on radio and Fox News Sunday, an unflappable, enthusiastic spokesman for a beleaguered Bush administration, or as a man who refused to let a devastating disease rob him of his joy for life.

And those fans, particularly those on the conservative side of the aisle worried about the coming election, should take both comfort and inspiration in Snow’s example of the last few years: Fight like hell for what you believe in, but in the fray remain principled and decent. Above all, don’t lose sight of what’s important: family, friends, love.

Tony’s own words speak to his depth of his character:

“First thing I’m going to do is … give you a pep talk,” Snow said, then providing the marching orders:

“No. 1, Stop complaining.

“No. 2, Roll up your sleeves. We’ve got a lot of things to do.”

High on that list was “proclaiming boldly what we believe, and don’t be afraid … to lay out the facts for those who don’t get it.” Snow also had a message for those engaged in “defiant defeatism,” (ed. note: CCPM) a chronic inability to see the United States as a force for good. “It’s a failure narrative that might be politically good … but it’s wrong,” he said. In fact, he added, there is “no nation that strives so hard, so mightily and so effectively to get things right.”

We certainly live in times where this advice is welcome and needed.

Posted on July 27, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sundays With Ferris

Sunday’s installment of Back Channels, Ferris highlights how Americans can come together to support our troops in positive ways:

Packages of Support For Our Troops

You’d think it would be enough that U.S. forces are showing great progress bringing Shias, Sunnis and Kurds together. But no. They’re bridging divisions at home, too, inspiring Americans to unite in a cause greater than themselves, as John McCain is fond of saying.

The cause is simple enough: Help the troops or local civilians. Some of those involved have family on the ground; others just hope to counter the horrors of war by doing good. Some are supportive of the military and their mission; some are opposed to war.

Several nonprofits supporting service members are registered with the Defense Department at www.americasupportsyou.mil. When the site began in 2004, four groups signed up, says Allison Barber, a deputy assistant secretary. Today, there are more than 380.

Before I had the opportunity to read the latest Back Channel, I spent part of my day welcoming a hero home. I am amazed at the timing of this column, as it is just perfect for this story:

A support the troops organization that is near to my heart – A heros Welcome today welcomed home CPL Dean Holt. He just turned 20 years old and is a sniper with the 101st Airborne. I had the opportunity to gather with members of his family, Warriors Watch, and the Chester County Victory Movement to greet CPL Holt as he arrived at Philly International Airport:

Mom watches anxiously for her son to arrive…

The kids are all ready to welcome home this hero…

Mom greets her son at the gate…

Photo by Sean: Dad gives his son the biggest bear hug of his life…

For more Welcome Home photos of CPL Dean surf over to Sean’s photo gallery. He is a remarkably talented photographer. Enjoy!

Posted on July 13, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday’s With Ferris

As much controversy that McCain has stirred up in his political career, I have to say that we both are made from the same material when it comes to standing our ground on issues. It takes a certain strength of character to hold your ground when all around you are pressuring you to ‘change’. In both political and personal issues I’ve been challenged to modify my stance, yet I managed to hold my ground with dignity and class, and I am all the better for doing so. Ferris’s Back Channel essay highlights this characteristic of John McCain.

Kevin Ferris: Back Channels: He’s Brave and he’s Honest.

McCain’s own character and judgment were certainly influenced by his naval career and his years as a POW. Those experiences don’t automatically qualify him to be president, but they do spotlight the kind of integrity, courage and sense of duty that are needed in the Oval Office.

Start with courage.

That was the first answer I got at last week’s town-hall meeting when I asked a supporter why he backed McCain. One word. No hesitation. Courage. There have been no modern-day presidential candidates who were tested under such extreme circumstances as McCain during his years of imprisonment. The only other former POW who was president was Andrew Jackson, held as a teenager by the British during the Revolution. In Hanoi, McCain’s integrity and honor passed the tests. He fought back against his captors, despite repeated torture and solitary confinement. He refused an early release – and suffered for it. ,Here’s a man who saw evil face to face and stood up to it. He endured the worst that one human can do to another and survived. He understands and appreciates freedom as few can.

That courage has carried over into his political career, with his willingness to stand up for what he believes in, whether the issue is campaign-finance reform, immigration, or other topics that cause some Republicans to wince.

You can read the entire essay HERE

Posted on July 06, 2008 :: Categories: Republican :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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Sunday’s with Ferris

Kevin Ferris, a talented columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer has pointed the spotlight on a plan to actually FIX problems in our healthcare, economy and tax code. A real plan, with a framework and goals, to address the problems we face in today’s America. I’ve always believed it was better to fix a problem, then to change it.

Republican’s Plan To Take On The Big Stuff

Shhh. Listen. Hear that? It’s a pulse. Faint, but there. An actual sign of life, one that could allay the fears of many about the state of Republicans in Congress. The blip comes courtesy of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), ranking member of the House Budget Committee. He has decided to forgo conventional wisdom about laying low on policy proposals while campaigns are in progress and offered ideas to secure the long-term fiscal and economic health of the country.

U.S. Rep Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has submitted for public review a Roadmap For America’s Future . This comprehensive plan addresses issues on runaway spending and economic growth, healthcare portability, and our complex tax code. It is a lofty plan, yet it is a start towards fixing problems instead of changing the issues.

Is it the perfect document, no. Is it a start on the road to a better future for our nation, yes. Constructing and publicizing this plan has puts something tangible on the table regarding today’s issues facing America, more so than the nebulous buzzword of ‘Change’ that has infected this election cycle.

Posted on June 29, 2008 :: Categories: Media :: Tags: Sunday With Ferris
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