Independence Caucus endorses Judge Lowrey, exposes money trail of Mark Kirk in Illinois

The following video exposes the money trail for Mark Kirk, running for US Senate in Illinois. He has received hundreds of thousands from the few banks who benefited from TARP. And no-so-coincidentally, he voted for TARP. Please pass this video as far and wide as you can before the Illinois Republican Primary this Tuesday.

Patrick Henry Caucus Drafts Provision for Utah to Opt Out of Federal Health Care Law

UTAH PATRICK HENRY CAUCUS UNANINMOUSLY SUPPORTS A LAWSUIT AGAINST THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN ORDER TO STOP THE FEDERAL HEALTH CARE BILL

Leading state sovereignty caucus strongly opposes the federal health care bill and supports lawsuits based on two violations of the U.S. Constitution.

The Patrick Henry Caucus adopted a unanimous position Wednesday, December 23, 2009, to oppose the Health Care Reform Bills, and to support a lawsuit against the federal government in order to stop the national health care bill from becoming law.

Calling the law unconstitutional, The Patrick Henry Caucus, which is comprised of legislators from both the Utah House of Representatives and the Utah Senate, vows to fight the federal law on multiple fronts. The Patrick Henry Caucus has an opt-out provision drafted and ready for presentation to the Utah Legislature next month. The opt-out would make it illegal for Utah agencies to implement any portion of the new federal law. The Caucus is calling on the State of Utah to join in with other States and take the lead on filing a lawsuit to stop the bill, should it receive final approval.

The Caucus believes the law is unconstitutional in at least two respects. First, the law unfairly gives preferential treatment to residents of Nebraska as a result of efforts by Senate Democrats to court the vote of Nebraska Senator Ben Campbell. The Caucus believes that this preferential treatment violates principles of due process and equal protection and is therefore unconstitutional under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.

Second, the law amounts to an excess of Congress’s enumerated powers inasmuch as it requires every American to acquire health insurance. This legislation marks the first time in history that Congress has required every single American to purchase a particular good or service, and cannot be reconciled with the notion that Congress possesses only those limited powers granted by the Constitution.

The Patrick Henry Caucus calls on the leaders from all States to join in the effort to file a lawsuit against the federal government in order to stop this wrongheaded piece of legislation. We must not allow Congress to commandeer one sixth of our nation’s fragile economy while simultaneously undermining the authority of the States. ####

Parking Changes Necessary Part II

A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD ON THIS TOPIC AT THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010.

I have been looking into the issue of the proposed parking changes for Logan city mentioned in the last post.

I have done a little research into this issue and I will share what I found. I spoke with the director of public works and he was kind enough to send a copy of the proposed changes which I added to the previous post. I asked him the purpose of the proposed changes and he said that a resident had called and complained that there was very little travel space in that area during the winter. The council heard the complaint and decided to do something about it.

I decided to drive around the area to see the parking situation and safety issues for myself. I found that on 200N it was indeed difficult to travel and could be dangerous in the snow. I didn't see that as much of a problem along 300 E. I noticed garbage cans out on the street on 300 E but they did not seem to be blocking the road very much.

After writing to the city council I received two responses from council members (and I am grateful that two of them were willing to respond).

I called a resident in the area (who knew nothing of the proposed parking changes). She said that the parking areas were not usually full and so reducing parking spaces would likely not be a problem, and that it was a little difficult to travel in the winter. She didn't know how the other residents felt about it though since she was unaware of the proposed changes. She felt that it would probably be best to only change to parallel parking on one side of the road. I still need to contact apartment owners in the area and ask for their input.

I also received input from two of the five city council members and I am grateful for their willingness to communicate.

Jay Monson and Herm Olsen filled me in on the history of the area and I will quote Mr. Monson below,

"Until about 30 years ago, the LDS Hospital for Logan stood on the corner NE of the Logan Temple. Sunshine Terrace was adjacent to the hospital. With the hospital, the Terrace, and the Temple all within that two block area, parking was very difficult to find. There were no large lots for parking for any of these facilities. Thus the city allowed patrons and residents alike to park their cars straight out from and in to the curb, with the cars and trucks sticking out into the road much farther than anywhere else in the city. With this being on a hill, and due to the busy traffic on this street, it was a major bottleneck for safety and welfare of both residents and visitors.

Over the years, parking was also allowed on an angle in to the curb along 2nd North from the temple entrance down one block to accommodate all the cars which needed to be there.

For some reason, which no one seems to know why, unusual policies were never changed after the new hospital was built in it's present location and the huge parking lot was built in it's place across from the temple."

Herm Olsen stated that the streets are public property and "must not be co-opted for the private financial benefit of any person." I found that an interesting reason to defend the change. Is the purpose of the change for public safety, or to "reclaim" public property?

One of my questions was how will this affect property owners and is this the right time to make such a change? Mr. Olsen recommended that "we send notice to all property owners and tenants that they will have an entire construction season (until the Fall of next year) to make arrangements. That should give each landowner adequate opportunity to take care of their own parking requirements without depending on public property...I am anxious to impose no sudden hardship on people who have relied on city property for a long period of time. "

I think that was a step in the right direction but I still hesitate to make a change that would financially hurt anyone in this economic situation we are in.

I also asked former Mayoral candidate Mike Morrill for his input. He pointed out that "Cache Valley and Logan have doubled in density, ...all of the homes on the west side of the street from second north to third north and third east have no driveways, and all of them park on the street year round. And 80% of the homes on the North side of the temple or second east, do not have sufficient parking. Again this is the home owners who are going to be hurt with their blanket policy thinking, not the Temple patrons."

Because I can see that there is a legitimate safety concern, but I would also like to see concern for those who have relied on this parking for so long, my recommendation is to change the parking on the side of the street closest to the temple to parallel parking (notifying residents well in advance). Then observe the effects of that change on safety, parking congestion, and effect on property owners. After a given trial period those effects should be evaluated and a determination can be made as to whether or not the other side of the road should be changed as well.

Parking Changes Necessary?

Dear City Council Members:

I am writing in regards to the proposed plan to change the parking stalls near the temple from angled parking to parallel parking. Although I was not in attendance at the council meeting where it was discussed, I listened to it on the internet as I have done for the past three years.

While I am not outright against the proposal, I do have a few concerns that I am hoping will be addressed at some point. They are as follows:

• How does this change improve safety? Is there any data on this?
• Will this cause unfunded mandates for property owners along the area? If the city is mandating changes that cost property owners money then the city should cover the cost.
• Keeping that in mind, is this a good use of taxpayer money--reducing parking that taxpayers can use and paying for landlords to pave their backyards?
• Why now? Is this the right time to be making such a change? (During a recession, when people are struggling financially, would making a change that requires extra money and reduces property value for nearby homes and apartments be the best option)?

Thank you for considering my concerns. I hope to be in attendance at the public hearing next month.

Sincerely,

Michelle L King

See related article here:http://www.cachevalleydaily.com/news/local/78294942.html

or listen to the city council discussion here:http://kutatv.com/page.php?5.37

A Don't-Miss Poltical Workshop and Seminar

Workshop and Seminar-

Activation and Motivation to Reclaim Good Government

• The current system for seeking political office against an incumbent is daunting and next to impossible. The system is rigged to favor the incumbent.
• WE THE PEOPLE can trump the big money and elect good people who will defend our constitutional rights.
• Don’t let the party chose who you can vote for, they haven’t been offering us very good choices if you haven’t noticed.
• We can trump the influence of big money if we unite our efforts.
• WE THE PEOPLE are the government—let’s learn how to govern again.

IPoliticom and the Independence Caucus have a proven plan.

All concerned citizens, potential candidates and activists that want to get involved and reclaim their voice in the process should attend the following workshop, complete with freedom loving speakers presenting the following topics:

Topics to be presented include:

Mike Lee (attorney and form law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito): Defending and protecting the US Constitution

Lori Fowlke (Utah Representative for District 59):The Utah Legislative Ethics Bill - Why it should not pass

Carl Wimmer (Utah Rep. for District 52 and founder of the Patrick Henry Caucus): Defending State's rights

Connie Smith (Former Deputy Campaign Manager for Jason Chaffetz): How to use cottage meetings and rallies to organize politically and how to put it all together

Monte Bateman (Founder of iPoliticom): A complete primer on implementing the precinct strategy for 2010 elections; Blog squad and rapid response—using online media to produce a good outcome

Frank Anderson (Founder of the Independence Caucus): how to research out incumbents and how to use the research

Morgan Philpot (State GOP Vice Chair): "You Can't Change What You Don't Understand--How To Work Within The GOP System"

Michelle and Brannon King (Cache County Coordinators for the Independence Caucus): What can and will go wrong with running a candidacy and what to do about it

Deidre Henderson (a Campaign manager for U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz)-how to build up your volunteer base

Ryan McCoy (Region 3 Rep for the Independence Caucus): Turbocharging our efforts using technology to the hilt. The hows and whys

Cory Jones (business and marketing expert and dedicated volunteer): Using marketing tools and techniques to further the cause of Freedom

In addition, recently the candidates who have filed for the 2010 Senate seat and answered the Independence Caucus vetting questions have also been invited to give a presentation: James Williams, Cherilyn Eagar, and Tim Bridgewater.

Let’s keep our momentum and move forward to the next level!

Copies of "Winning Elections With The Precinct Strategy: A Complete Guide For Activists" will be available at this event. See you there.

Host: iPoliticom and the Independence Caucus
Type: Education - Workshop
Date: Saturday, December 5, 2009
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Location: Challenger School
Street: 1260 E 8600 S
City/Town: Sandy, UT
Fee: None

Legal Registration

Some online commenters brought up some valid concerns about the legal status of the Independence Caucus and so I have chosen to address those here.

The Independence Caucus is a non-profit corporation that does not have tax exempt status. They will have to file taxes every year so that they can legally endorse candidates.

They are also in progress of registering an Independence Caucus Political Action Committee (527 tax filing). To this date, the Independence Caucus has not donated a single dollar to a single candidate and will not until this legal status goes through.

We host fundraisers for candidates but charge them to do so because otherwise it would be considered a donation.

Also, to this date nobody has donated over $200 to the Independence Caucus. If they had they would have had to file w/the Lt. Gov's office.

Voting Results, Logan City 2009

We at the Cache Independence Caucus wish to offer our congratulations to Randy Watts, Dean Quayle, and Holly Daines in the 2009 Logan Municipal Election.

Although the candidates selected by our local group were not elected, we are not going away. We are a national organization and will continue to grow and be involved in many races including next years senate race. We are committed to continue to offer to the public candidates who are committed to a standard of limited government and individual responsibility. We encourage the public to learn more about both our local group at www.cacheicaucus.blogspot.org and our national group at www.icaucus.org. For those who wish to become involved in helping us please contact Michelle King atmichelle@cacheicaucus.org or 435.753.4790.

Michelle L King

2009 Coordinator

Cache Independence Caucus

See results here: http://www.loganutah.org/voting/VotingResults.cfm