April-June, 2015 - Castleton Republicans

CASTLETON REPUBLICAN
Castleton, Vermont
Volume 15 Issue 2
A p r i l, Ma y, J u n e 201 5
HAPPY PASSOVER
& EASTER
Castleton Spring Breakfast Buffet
with guest speakers:
Representative Pattie McCoy
& Senator Brian Collamore
8:30 am, Saturday, April 18, 2015
I pledge allegiance to the
flag of the United States
of America
and to the
Republic
for which it
stands, one nation
under God,
indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.
Inside this issue:
Did You Hear?
2
News Bias
2
Temperature Check
2
Freedom & Unity
3
Upcoming Events
3
VT Health Connect
4
Spring is slowly making its presence
known and bringing the annual sense of
hope and expectancy of new life, renewed vigor, and brighter days. As we
listened to the first Republican presidential candidate’s speech this week, our
hearts were stirred with the American
Dream and energy of Freedom to once
again overcome the damage from invading socialism in our state and nation.
Rutland County has been blessed to
have exceptional GOP legislators (15 of
21, with 1 supportive Independent)
standing for us in Montpelier this session. They are respected as a close knit
and effective group there. Though Vermont has unsettling difficulties right
now, together we can redeem it from
the years of liberal agendas and poor
management. Our freedom and unity is a
priceless goal.
Please join with others from around the
county for a fabulous breakfast on the
lakeshore with legislative updates, encouragement of fellow Republicans, networking
opportunities, and chances to thank our
legislative team. We’ll look forward to
hearing insights and stories from 2 of our
freshman legislators, Rep Pattie McCoy and
Senator Brian Collamore!
Who:
Citizens, community leaders,
students, elected officials
What:
Breakfast buffet & Discussion
Where: Trak-In route 30N,
Lake Bomoseen
When:
Saturday, April 18
8:30-10:30 am
Cost:
$12.00
Paid for by Castleton Republican Committee
www.castletonrepublicans.org
RSVP by April 15 to:
Al Gustafson 273-3954 agustafsonvt@comcast.net
Castleton Republicans facebook page castletonrepublicans@yahoo.com
Politics ought to be the part-time profession of every citizen who would
protect the rights and privileges of free people and who would preserve
what is good and fruitful in our national heritage. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower
PAGE 2
C A S T LE T O N R E P U B LI C A N
V O LU M E 1 5 I S S U E 2
D I D YO U H E A R … ?
The Castleton College GOP Club will
be hosting Rob Roper of the Ethan Allen
Institute to speak on “School Choice in
Vermont: How to Lower Property
Taxes and Improve Student Outcomes” in the 1787 Room (in the Campus Center) at Castleton College on Tuesday, April
14, at 7:00 pm.
Can you come with a friend? Important message!
Really, there might be a Bias in the News?
ABC News executive producer Ian Cameron is married to
Susan Rice, National Security Adviser.
CBS Chairman David Rhodes is the brother of Ben
Rhodes, Obama's Deputy National Security Adviser for
Strategic Communications.
ABC News national correspondent Claire Shipman is married to former Whitehouse Press Secretary Jay Carney
ABC News and Univision reporter Matthew Jaffe is married to Katie Hogan, Obama's Deputy Press Secretary
ABC President Ben Sherwood is the brother of Obama's
Special Adviser Elizabeth Sherwood
CNN President Virginia Moseley is married to Hillary
Clinton's former Deputy Secretary Tom Nides.
"That frequent recurrence to fundamental principles, and a firm
adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, industry, and
frugality, are absolutely necessary to preserve the blessings of
liberty, and keep government free; the people
ought, therefore, to pay particular attention to
these points, in the choice of officers and
representatives, and have a right, in a legal
way, to exact a due and constant regard to
them, from their legislators and magistrates, in
making and executing such laws as are
necessary for the good government of the
State." VT Constitution, Chapter 1, Article 18
After that cold winter, will
deciduous trees be releaved?
“Global Temperatures Falsified For Years to
Show Warming”
by Steve Straub at thefederalistpapers.org
“When future generations look back on the global-warming
scare of the past 30 years, nothing will shock them more than the
extent to which the official temperature records – on which the
entire panic ultimately rested – were systematically “adjusted” to
show the Earth as having warmed much more than the actual
data justified.
Two weeks ago, under the headline ‘How we are being tricked
by flawed data on global warming’, I wrote about Paul Homewood, who, on his Notalotofpeopleknowthat blog, had checked
the published temperature graphs for three weather stations in
Paraguay against the temperatures that had originally been recorded. In each instance, the actual trend of 60 years of data had
been dramatically reversed, so that a cooling trend was changed
to one that showed a marked warming.
This was only the latest of many examples of a practice long
recognized by expert observers around the world – one that raises an ever larger question mark over the entire official surfacetemperature record.
Of much more serious significance, however, is the way this
wholesale manipulation of the official temperature record – for
reasons GHCN and Giss have never plausibly explained – has
become the real elephant in the room of the greatest and most
costly scare the world has known. This really does begin to
look like one of the greatest scientific scandals of all time.”
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security would
deserve neither and lose both.
Benjamin Franklin.
V O LU M E 1 5 I S S U E 2
C A S T LE T O N R E P U B LI C A N
PAGE 3
For Freedom and Unity
"How far such people may extend their
influence, and what may be the consequences thereof, is not easy to decide; but
this we know, that it is not difficult by concealment of some facts and the exaggeration of others, where there is an influence,
to bias a well-meaning mind - although we
allow truth will ultimately prevail where
pains are taken to bring it to light."
~ George Washington, Letter to
Charles M. Thruston (August 10, 1794)
Create a Socialist State Through Eight Levels of Control
by Saul Alinsky
1) Healthcare – Control healthcare and you control the people.
2) Poverty – Increase the Poverty level as high as possible, poor people are easier to control and will not fight back if you are providing
everything for them to live.
3) Debt – Increase the debt to an unsustainable level. That way you are
able to increase taxes, and this will produce more poverty.
4) Gun Control – Remove the ability to defend themselves from the
Government. That way you are able to create a police state.
5) Welfare - Control of every aspect of life. (Food, Housing, Income)
6) Education – Take control of what people read and listen to – take
control of what children learn in school.
7) Religion – Remove the belief in the God from Government and
schools.
8) Class Warfare – Divide the people into the wealthy and the poor.
This will cause more discontent and it will be easier to take from (Tax)
the wealthy with the support of the poor.
Purposing together to preserve/ restore freedom in these areas!
Hold on, my friends, to the Constitution and to
the Republic for which it stands. Miracles do not
cluster, and what has happened once in 6000
years, may not happen again. Hold on to the
Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there
will be anarchy throughout the world. ~ Daniel Webster ~
This newsletter is sent by e-mail & USPS all around the
county. The archived editions can be seen at
www.castletonrepublicans.org. The electronic version - in
color, free, and easily shared, we recommend! Request to be
added at castletonrepublicans@yahoo.com.
~Castleton Committee~
Check Out These Upcoming Events!
4/4 4/5 4/6 4/11 4/14 4/18 5/3 5/7 5/23
5/25
6/14
6/23
Passover begins - why not read the story to a young person? (Exodus 12)
Easter Let’s make the most of this celebration to bring Good News to Vermont!
Evolve Vermont, women’s luncheon on legislative topics, College of St Joseph, 11:30—1:00 (not a GOP event)
Poultney Chamber of Commerce “2015 Spotlight on business” 9 am - 3 pm
Castleton College GOP Club host “School Choice” w/ Rob Roper, 1787 Room, Campus Center, 7 pm
Castleton Republican Quarterly Breakfast Meeting -Trak In, Bomoseen, 8:30 am, $12
Loyalty Day Parade, in Rutland, 2 - 4 pm , VFW Auxiliary Luncheon 11 - 4 pm, adults $7
National Day of Prayer, plan to join together with fellow citizens to humble ourselves and pray for our communities,
armed forces, state, and nation. For resources and locations visit: www.NationalDayOfPrayer.org
- Memorial Day Spring Fling, Town of Fair Haven & American Legion Post 49 honor troops and veterans at POW
monument followed by parade and events. Fair Haven Green, 9 - 3 pm contact@vtlakesregionchamber.org
- Memorial Day Parade in Poultney starting at Stewarts at 10:30 am
- 39th Annual Crowley Brothers’ Memorial Road Race, 8 am - 6 pm http://www.crowleyroadrace.com/
- John Bloomer Memorial Rutland GOPAC Golf Tournament, Proctor-Pittsford CC, balls in the air 1pm, dinner 6pm,
Contact: mcandon@moorscabot.com (802-770-1340) for complete info and sign-up.
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves
against tyranny in government. Thomas Jefferson
Vermonters Want the Truth About Vermont Health Connect
& A Functioning, Affordable Health Insurance System
On Feb 25, Morgan True reported in VtDigger that the “Republican lawmakers are calling for a federal investigator to
review Vermont’s spending to implement the Affordable Care Act.” There is an audit happening apparently by the U.S.
Office of Inspector General which was reported to be “scheduled to wrap up in March”. Vermont has spent over $126
million of federal money building the incomplete exchange and could possibly spend $200 million by fall. On March 20,
Shumlin stated that if the exchange wasn’t working by fall, he would abandon the project and move to using a
“federally supported system”.
On March 18, Wendy Wilton wrote:. “It is good news that Auditor Hoffer has scheduled a performance audit of Vermont Health Connect this spring. The auditor’s work will be vitally important information for the Legislature to consider
as it determines the fate of the state’s exchange. Hopefully, they will have his report before the session ends.
Much has been said and written about the problems with development and roll-out of Vermont Health Connect and the
expected $200 million cost of this poorly managed effort. However, there could be more financial costs lurking on the
horizon that the auditor needs to tell us about.
Vermont Health Connect has been dysfunctional from the start and still is. The backlog of coverage changes is over 11,000 cases.
Enrollment, determining Medicaid and subsidy eligibility, changing eligibility and benefit profiles, processing premiums, and processing insurance claims, and other activities have all experienced failures. Participating insurers are owed millions of dollars in
premiums, but have continued to pay for care. This will have negative impacts on other subscribers’ rates unless the state makes
good on what it owes.
Auditor Hoffer should consider exploring these areas of concern:
• How many and what is the value of premium payments processed through Vermont Health Connect that have not been
reconciled and paid to Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP?
• Where (in what account) is the cash representing unreconciled premiums?
• How many and what is the value of provider payments made by BCBS and MVP associated with the above flawed beneficiary application and claim processes that remain unpaid?
• Of those newly enrolled in Medicaid, how many have eligibility documentation that is inaccurate? What is the state’s financial exposure due to flawed Medicaid enrollments?
• Similarly, how many and what is the value of paid premium subsidies associated with flawed income determinations?
• The state has a significant ($57 million), no bid contract with Optum-possibly similar to the Gruber contract. What controls exist to ensure the invoices are detailed and accurate, work will be done on time and within budget, and that the contractor will deliver the solutions?
• What is the per month-per member cost of Vermont Health Connect? How does this compare to BCBS and MVP’s per
month-per member costs?
Three years ago, I concluded a single payer health care system would make the state insolvent due to unforeseen cost escalation,
lack of savings, and unsustainable taxes. Vermont Health Connect represents a similar risk to the state’s precarious finances with
unexpected costs and lack of control. The auditor’s report, if thorough and timely, could give the Legislature essential facts to take
decisive and imperative action."
Wendy Wilton's commentary can also be found @ http://vtdigger.org/…/wendy-wilton-time-for-facts-about-ve…/