Category Archives: Event Summary

Last evening, Randall Wenger, Chief Counsel for the Independence Law Center in Harrisburg presented his thoughts on Flexing Our Liberties in an Age of Growing Tyranny.

Mr. Wenger opened with assurance to those present that they should not become disheartened over current trends in America – specifically those that relate to religious freedom. Some on the left see religion as poison and relentlessly attack our traditional religious values.

Wenger drew the distinction between freedom of religion and freedom of worship; indicating that opponents of religion seek to obfuscate by touting freedom of worship as the replacement for freedom of religion. The difference is subtle and, unless we think about it, it is easy to accept what they put forth.

On the local level, Mr. Wenger discussed the current suit between the U S Department of Health and Conestoga Wood Specialties of Lancaster in which the government is seeking to force the owners of a family owned business to go against their personal religious beliefs and provide contraception as part of their employees health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (‘Obamacare’).

Wenger also discussed a case (Tinker vs. Des Moines Board of Education) which sets forth ‘rules’ for religious expression in public school systems. This case clearly defined what students may and may not do in the public school setting.

What is the biggest threat to religious freedom in America today ? According to Wenger it is gay and lesbian marriage; not because such marriages are non-traditional, but because of the long-term legal ramifications of such unions.

Mr. Wenger recommends that as private citizens we ‘Exercise our constitutional rights to keep them strong and vibrant.’

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting                $ 16,765,513,097,974
Debt at End of Meeting                           $ 16,765,531,996,626
Increase in Debt during the Meeting   $                18,898,652
Increase per Minute                                $                      209,985

 Next Meeting    

Brittney Morrett will be speaking Monday, June 10, 2013 7:00 PM on the top of
‘Engagement, Rhetoric, and How Conservatives Can Lead on Hot Button Issues’

Brittney Morrett was raised in central Pennsylvania and received her A.A. from Bard College at Simon’s Rock in Massachusetts, then graduated with a B.A. in Middle East Studies from The George Washington University in 2010.

After graduation Brittney went on to be the Communications Manager for CampusReform.org, the Leadership Institute’s grassroots mobilization site for conservative college students. Brittney currently works as the Youth Projects Manager for The LIBRE Initiative, a non-partisan, nonprofit that promotes economic freedom to the U.S. Hispanic community.

Brittney speaks at events like Right Online and various conservative panels/summits regarding topics from youth and minority outreach to effective activism. This year she was an emcee at CPAC and has been published in The Guardian, NBC Latino, and the Daily Caller in addition to being on several radio programs in the USA and Canada. At the recently held 2013 PA Leadership Conference she was a panelist on a mini-panel addressing the topic “Conservative Faces of the Future.”

Global Warming – Fact or Fiction was the topic presented by Joe Lundberg and Joe Bastardi at the monthly meeting of Susquehanna Valley Conservatives on Monday April 22.

High school science teachers would have thoroughly enjoyed this presentation – chock full of scientific data, evidence, charts, and graphs that leads Lundberg to the conclusion that the jury is still out on whether or not global warming is the imminent threat trumpeted by the media.

2000 years of history shows a ‘Medieval Warm Period’ from roughly 800 – 1300 AD, then a ‘Little Ice Age’ from 1400 – 1650, and, more recently, during the 1970s another ice age was being forecast. Now, only 40 years later, the ‘threat du jour’ is global warming. Climate, according to Lundberg, has always been cyclical, and continues to be so. To try to draw conclusions based on short term trends, is a mistake.

Specific events can lead directly to severe, but short-lived climatological changes. Lundberg cited the eruption of Tambora in 1815; which led to ‘the year without a summer’ in 1816. New England states experienced frost in every summer month that year. Crop failures in Europe were a direct result.

Many factors influence climate and meteorology, among them the solar cycle (sunspots), volcanic activity, ocean temperatures and currents, wind patterns, and the impact of man and his presence.

Some spirited debate between Lundberg, Bastardi, and Dr Kathy Straub, a professor from Susquehanna University emphasized the differences that exist between the two ‘camps’ – those who claim global warming is a serious, imminent danger, and those who think a ‘wait and see’ attitude is appropriate.

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting $ 16,798,523,468,274
Debt at End of Meeting 16,798,741,597,776

Increase in Debt during the Meeting $ 218,129,502

Increase per Minute $ 3,207,787

Next Meeting

Monday, May 13, 2013 7:00 PM. Randall Wenger of the Pennsylvania Family Institute/Independence Law Council will speak about threats to religious liberty

Joe Lundberg – Global Warming : Fact or Fiction?

State Representative Daryl Metcalfe (R – Butler) brought his message of strong support for both the  Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution and Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution to Lewisburg on Monday March 11. A standing-room-only crowd of more than 150 was in attendance.

‘An armed law-abiding citizenry is the best deterrent to crime,’ Metcalfe stated.

Metcalfe cited various ways gun control advocates in the General Assembly have recently tried to ‘back door’ the issue and take away the rights of law-abiding citizens to own firearms.

• A Philadelphia lawmaker who wants to sue gun manufacturers for crimes in which a firearm is involved; holding the manufacturer responsible instead of the perpetrator of the crime. (This particular legislator openly admitted to Metcalfe – twice – that he has not read either the Second Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, or Article 1, Section 21 of the Pennsylvania Constitution)
•  A Legislator who wants every Pennsylvania resident who holds a permit to carry a firearm to be required to maintain a $ 1 million liability insurance policy.
• Another lawmaker who wants the Commonwealth to limit firearms purchases to 1 per month.

A CALL TO ACTION !

Representative Metcalfe is sponsoring legislation – House Bill 357 – that, if enacted, will make new federal gun laws unenforceable in Pennsylvania.

House Bill 357 currently has 71 co-sponsors. 102 are needed to advance the legislation.

If you believe in the Second Amendment, phone, write, or email Pennsylvania legislators – not just those in your district – and tell them to sponsor HB 357.

As Rep Metcalfe stated, the Second Amendment was originally written to protect citizens against government tyranny. If you feel that government is chipping away at your rights, freedom, and liberty YOU MUST ACT !

A petition supporting HB 357 can be downloaded by clicking HERE. Sign it, circulate it among your family and friends. The deadline is April 23. You can mail it directly to Rep Metcalfe’s office or bring it to the next SVC meeting (April 22).

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting                $ 16,714,849,151,950
Debt at End of Meeting                            $ 16,716,394,445,698
Increase in Debt during the Meeting      $        154,5293,748
Increase per Minute                                  $ 2,057,246

Next Meeting    

Monday, April 22, 2013 at 7:00 PM. Congressman Lou Barletta will speak on Immigration Reform  Postponed

NOTE: April Meeting changed to April 22, the 4th Monday of the month (rather than the 2nd Monday of the month due to schedule conflicts)

Johanna Persing – Press Assistant for the Republican National Committee

You can read The Daily Item’s article about her: Press assistant offers peak into the Republican National Committee

Johanna’s Press announcements can also be read at http://www.gop.com/author/johanna-persing/

Recent Lewisburg grad Johanna Persing made her public speaking debut last evening at the February meeting of Susquehanna Valley Conservatives.

Johanna Persing, Press Assistant for the Republican National Committee

Ms Persing, who is a young conservative, gave an overview of the composition, procedures, and inner workings of the Republican National Committee where she works as a Press Assistant.

With the recent loss in the presidential election the Republican Party is in re-assessment mode; trying to find the right mix of staying on message, while at the same time re-packaging that message so it appeals to a broader audience. There is a belief at the RNC that the conservative message still resonates with people as well as an ongoing faith in that message among party leadership.

Ms Persing discussed the effectiveness of the Democrats use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. In the last election cycle social media played a significant role in both fund-raising and getting the message out to voters. The RNC is in ‘catch up’ mode, but is making strides.

Responding to a question from the audience, Persing indicated the RNC is currently focusing on mid-term senatorial and congressional races. No ‘Stop Hillary Now’ sub-committee has been formed.

Ms Persing stated that the RNC does not get involved at the political level; rather their mission is to set policy then market the message. They do not influence candidate selection ahead of primary elections, but let the primary process play out to its own conclusion. In the recent presidential election, once Mitt Romney was finally named the nominee, the RNC did interact more closely with the Romney campaign.

‘The RNC does a poor job of listening to people’ according to Persing. To remedy that situation she suggests taking the online survey at http://www.gop.com.

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting $ 16,498,735,406,442
Debt at End of Meeting 16,498,884,412,387

Increase in Debt during the Meeting $ 149,005,945

Increase per Minute $ 1,986,745

Next Meeting Monday, March 11, 2013 7:00 PM

Michael Ciccocioppo, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation, introduced himself by speaking about his family background and how it brought him to his current mission – leading in the Pro-Life movement here in Pennsylvania.

Michael Ciccocioppo speaks to SVC

Ciccocioppo passionately told of the choice his parents faced. They were very young – about to graduate from high school in 1952 – when they found out they would soon become parents. Their choice could have been to abort him, but they decided against it, and over time became the parents of 15. He posed the rhetorical question “What would their decision have been if their situation had taken place today – a time in which abortions are funded by the national government ?”

Mr. Ciccocioppo raised concerns that the Affordable Health Care Act – ‘Obamacare’ – will greatly expand abortion since, according to the president, ‘reproductive care (code words for abortion according to Ciccocioppo) is essential care, basic care so it is at the center of the health care reform I propose.’

The law includes $ 9.5 billion for ‘community health centers’, and, since it does not explicitly forbid abortions at those centers, they will expand the availability and number of federally-funded abortions.

This runs counter to the Hyde Amendment, which must be renewed each year by specific legislative action. The Hyde Amendment stipulates that federal funds cannot be used to pay for abortion services performed under Medicare or Medicaid. Obamacare is therefore an end-run around Hyde.

At the state level, the insurance exchanges to be established as part of Obamacare will include an abortion surcharge. This means every participant in the exchange will pay for abortions; regardless of the participant’s religious beliefs, age, or marital status. Fortunately states can pass legislation specifically exempting them from the surcharge, and the Commonwealth is pursuing such an exemption.

Obamacare will ration health care by establishing an Independent Payment Advisory Board, charged with ‘making recommendations to slow the growth of national health care expenses to below the rate of inflation.’ It empowers the Department of Health and Human Services with the ability to impose quality and efficiency standards on health care providers. This Independent Payment Advisory Board is the ‘Death Panel’ referred to in the recent presidential campaign, which was pooh-poohed as fear-mongering by the left.

Ciccocioppo also pointed out the insidious nature of Obamacare; indicating that the ‘good stuff’ happens early, while the ‘bad stuff’ (taxes, fees, fines) all take place later in the implementation phase.

Ciccocioppo answers questions

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting                $ 16,443,464,873,029
Debt at End of Meeting                              16,443,610,089,468
Increase in Debt during the Meeting      $        145,116,419
Increase per Minute                                  $ 1,612,404

Next Monthly Meeting

Our next meeting will be held Monday, February 11, 2013.

DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT

U S Congressman Tom Marino presented a post-election review / legislative outlook to approximately 70 attendees at the November 19 meeting of Susquehanna Valley Conservatives.

To open the meeting, congressman Marino thanked those in attendance for supporting his recent re-election.

Much of the early discussion in this question and answer forum dealt with Obamacare. Can it be stopped, is there any legal recourse, etc ? Unfortunately the answer to such questions was ‘No’. It is now the law of the land and with Governor Romney’s defeat it will be fully implemented over the next four years. Congressman Marino did point out; however that there are 19 state governors who have chosen not to set up insurance exchanges for their states as written in the law – rather they will let that default to the federal government.

Mr Marino issued a sobering warning about America’s ongoing credit worthiness – aka the ‘fiscal cliff’. According to the congressman, we are already over the cliff; hanging on by a fingernail. Moody’s credit rating agency has already suggested the possibility of another credit downgrade for the US if we cannot get our fiscal house in order. China – which owns 26 or 27 % of our debt is also expressing concern over our ability to repay.

Some members of congress seem to think we just need to print more currency as a way to solve our debt crisis; however history has shown repeatedly that that particular ’cure’ is toxic in any economy.

If the US cannot reach some sort of compromise/action plan, the possibility exists that the dollar will no longer be recognized as the international medium of exchange, and could possibly be replaced by the Chinese luan. China has no debt, their currency is stable (although artificially maintained by their government) and they could make a compelling case to the World Bank why the luan should replace the dollar. If that happens, the consequences to our economy would be dire.

Many in the audience expressed despair in one form or another by asking ‘What can we do?’ type questions. There was a sense that our ability to exercise any control over our future (as well as the countries) is slipping away.

Mr Marino pointed out that most Americans don’t pay any attention to politics/legislation. There is a growing lack of any sense of responsibility among many of our citizens. They would rather just ‘let the government deal with it’. As concerned citizens we must continue to be diligent and express our desire for fiscal responsibility / downsizing government / cutting spending, by writing our congressmen and senators and making our concerns known.

The congressman expressed frustration over the culture in Washington. Most elected officials care about only 3 things: 1) getting re-elected, 2) retaining power, or 3) regaining power. He stated there is too much power in the hands of too few people. The Speaker of the House, The Senate Majority Leader, and 10 or 12 committee chairmen control what legislation is or is not brought forth for action.

To wrap up, Mr Marino reiterated his support for two fundamental changes: 1) term limits – which would help break down the cultural barriers that prevent problem solving, and 2) ‘one bill/one subject. Too many bills get loaded up with riders or pet projects as part of the horse trading that is legislation. As a result, legislation becomes too unwieldy to read before voting on it (‘We have to pass this bill to see what’s in it’ – Nancy Pelosi) or too costly / muddled / side-tracked to be effective.

SVC National Debt Tracker

Debt at Beginning of Meeting $ 16,295,648,921,413
Debt at End of Meeting 16,295,915,134,607

Increase in Debt during the Meeting $ 266,213,194

Increase per Minute * $ 2,957,924
Our National Debt increased at the rate of almost $ 3 MILLION DOLLARS PER
MINUTE during the 90 minutes of this meeting !

Next Monthly Meeting

There will be no December meeting.

The next meeting will be held Monday, January 14, 2013.

‘I could have stayed and listened for another hour or two.’

So remarked one attendee at the Oct 8 political forum sponsored by the Susquehanna Valley Conservatives and held at the Campus Theater in Lewisburg.

For 90 minutes, Gary Sojka, retired President of Bucknell University, guided four top panelists – two liberals and two conservatives – as they presented their ‘Vision for America’ to a packed house. Sojka did a superb job handling the sometimes reasonable, sometimes contentious give and take between panelists; and, later in the evening, as the audience grew more vocal at points made by either side.

Susquehanna Valley Conservatives offers sincere thanks to Dr Sojka.

Retired Bucknell professors John Peeler and Peter Kresl (speaking for the liberal side) and Ana Puig and Andre Harper (for the conservatives), held the attention of approximately 330 attendees as they each offered an opening statement, then posed questions back and forth, seeking to draw distinctions between their vision and that of their opponents.

Peeler and Kresl presented liberalism from a historical perspective, going back to its roots in activism against the ‘Mercantilist State’, when people banded together to fight against exploitation by the merchant class. They moved forward on the timeline – through the rise of labor unions, to Keynesian economics in which government seeks to ‘guide’ economies by expenditure of public funds – to Roosevelt’s New Deal.

On the conservative side, Puig immediately made the case against re-electing the president, citing her experience immigrating to America to escape a socialist government, her travels around the world where she has observed socialist/Marxist governments and their impact on nations. Puig’s passion about not wanting to see America go into a state of decline by following the same path was evident in her presentation.

Andre Harper described his life on, and escape from, the streets of West Palm Beach. He cited his ‘awakening’ when Rev Jesse Jackson came to Florida A & M to talk ‘politics’ with students. Harper, a student leader for the Democratic Party at the time, was taken aback when Jackson spoke to black students, not about issues of the day, but only from a perspective of how those students were being exploited – how they owed blind allegiance – to the Democratic Party. His conclusion, and the main theme of his presentation – liberals are racists because they seek to continue to oppress minorities under the guise of ‘helping’ them.

Sparks flew near the end of the give and take when Puig drew a comparison between liberals and Communists. Dr Kresl took exception to that comparison – to which Harper shot back that liberals ‘can dish it out but they can’t take it.’

Susquehanna Valley Conservations sincerely thanks the panelists for their participation and the audience for their interest. Our Founding Fathers saw the need for an informed electorate as one of the linchpins of democracy. The SVC meeting on October 8 shows that residents of the Susquehanna Valley are willing to discharge that responsibility.

Pictures of the forum can be viewed here

SVC National Debt Tracker

Due to the full agenda for this meeting, national debt data was not presented.

Next Monthly Meeting

Next monthly meeting will be held Monday, November 19. Please note this is a change to the 3rd Monday of November, rather than the 2nd Monday because November 12 is Veterans Day

DEMOCRACY IS NOT A SPECTATOR SPORT