CONSERVATIVE NEWS THAT MATTERS: The Register(GordonWatts.com hosted by GoDaddy
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Last updated: Mon. 19 August 2024, 8:45am(EST)UPDATE: Our Open Investigation finds 91.86% of all
GOP lawmakers refuse to obey the GOP platform prohibition on tax dollars originating (making) student loans. Unless this 91.86% are ok being called
RINOs, then the only other explanation for RINO behaviour is lack of student loan bankruptcy self-defense as a Conservative Free Market force to compel
the Dept of Ed & lobbyists to back off & allow lawmakers to make cuts called for in
the GOP platform. Thus, Republican readers must demand lawmakers pass S.2598 & H.R.4907 below. Democrat readers
must do so, as their platform calls for restoration of student loan bankruptcy: Contact your Member of Congress & U.S.
Senator. The Register isn't Liberal; we don't seek forgiveness: Bankruptcy isn't a free handout, but rather required by the Constitution's
BANKRUPTCY UNIFORMITY clause; not an amendment, rather the Constitution, Art.I Sec.8, cl.4. Thus, readers of both parties must demand
Lawmakers pass the bipartisan S.2598 - 117th Congress
(2021-2022) FRESH START Through Bankruptcy Act and related bill, H.R.4907 - 117th Congress (2021-2022) to make Student Loans fair/Constitutional again. As proof more extreme solutions exist:
Rob Applebaum's petition, with OVER 1 million signatures:
you can't fake 1,000,000+. See also Alan Collinge's recent petition, which
also has over 1M signatures. *** Read this first:"Why College Prices Keep Rising" Then,
Contact Lawmakers. *
Search site (or web):
Alternative: News Media (e.g., Blogroll)
In alphabetical order
Learning to Serve ------- Serving to Learn ------- _______ _______
"Free press doctrine lionized the press as the prime defender of public liberty in its role as a bulwark against governmental
tyranny. Open press doctrine, on the other hand, stressed the individual right of every man to air his sentiments for all to consider, regardless of
his political perspective or the consequences for the people's liberty."
ISSN 1062-7421, Vol. 12 No. 2 (February 2002) pp. 79-83; THE FOUNDING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC PRESS LIBERTY, 1640-1800 by Robert W. T. Martin. New York:
New York University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0-8147-5655-7
Reviewed by Rick A. Swanson, Department of Political Science, University of Louisiana at
Lafayette
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Things are not always what they seem...” (Phaedrus)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and
corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers
conquered.” (Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt. (Sherlock Holmes, “The Yellow Face” Arthur Conan Doyle)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.”
(Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” (Sherlock Holmes: “A Study in Scarlet,” by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
Sherlock Holmes Quote -A Scandal in Bohemia
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes:
“The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 6, p. 111, by Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.” (Sherlock Holmes: “The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 1, p. 92, by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"How, then, did you deduce the telegram?"
"Why, of course I knew that you had not written a letter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a
sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the post-office for, then, but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors, and
the one which remains must be the truth." (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 1 - The Science of Deduction)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-01.html
“"How came he, then?" I reiterated. "The door is locked; the window is inaccessible. Was it through the chimney?"
"The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already considered that possibility."
"How, then?" I persisted.
"You will not apply my precept," he said, shaking his head. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the window, or the chimney. We also know that he could not have
been concealed in the room, as there is no concealment possible. When, then, did he come?"
"He came through the hole in the roof!" I cried.
"Of course he did. He must have done so. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me, we shall now extend our researches to the room
above -- the secret room in which the treasure was found."” (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 6 - Sherlock Holmes Gives a
Demonstration)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-06.html
“"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered...I
believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored
to the people, to whom it properly belongs."”
“The first part of the quotation ("If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the
continent their Fathers conquered") has not been found anywhere in Thomas Jefferson's writings, to Albert Gallatin or otherwise. It is identified in
Respectfully Quoted as spurious, and the editor further points out that the words "inflation" and "deflation" are not documented until after Jefferson's
lifetime.
The second part of the quotation ("I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...") may well be a
paraphrase of a statement Jefferson made in a letter to John Taylor in 1816. He wrote, "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments
are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling
futurity on a large scale."
The third part of this quotation ("The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs") may be a
misquotation of Jefferson's comment to John Wayles Eppes, "Bank-paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must be restored to the nation to whom
it belongs."” [Internal citations removed]
* B.S., The Florida State University, Biological & Chemical Sciences, double major with honours
* A.S., United Electronics Institute, Valedictorian, plus Classes at Evangelical University & author, highly-rated book on theology
*** To verify some qualifications, please see educational institution images at this link (click
here).
- Official research page: (GordonWatts.com hosted by GoDaddy
and GordonWayneWatts.com hosted by HostGator)
* Wisdom Prov 4:7; Matt 10:16; Jas 1:5 * Truth Ex 18:21; Ps 51:6; Prov 3:3; John 8:32; 14:6 * Righteousness Ecc 12:13-14; Micah 6:8; Matt 10:16 * Follow the Master's Example Deut 1:35-36; John 13:15; 14:12; I Pet 2:21; 5:3 * FIGHT for the TRUTH! Prov 24:10; Luke 14:31; Sirach 4:28
/ Gordon Wayne Watts,
/ LAKELAND, Florida, U.S.A.,
B.S., Biological and Chemical
Sciences (double major with
honors, FSU)
A.S., Electronics Technology
(valedictorian, UEI)
The Register: Not for profit
-------
Learning to Serve ------- Serving to Learn ------- _______ _______
"Free press doctrine lionized the press as the prime defender of public liberty in its role as a bulwark against governmental
tyranny. Open press doctrine, on the other hand, stressed the individual right of every man to air his sentiments for all to consider, regardless of
his political perspective or the consequences for the people's liberty."
ISSN 1062-7421, Vol. 12 No. 2 (February 2002) pp. 79-83; THE FOUNDING OF AMERICAN DEMOCRATIC PRESS LIBERTY, 1640-1800 by Robert W. T. Martin. New York:
New York University Press, 2001. ISBN: 0-8147-5655-7
Reviewed by Rick A. Swanson, Department of Political Science, University of Louisiana at
Lafayette
* Wisdom Prov 4:7; Matt 10:16; Jas 1:5
"Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding." Proverbs 4:7 (KJV) Holy Bible
"“Behold, I [JESUS] am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and
innocent as doves." Matthew 10:16 (ESV) Holy Bible
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5 (NKJV)
Holy Bible
* Truth Ex 18:21; Ps 51:6; Prov 3:3; John 8:32; 14:6
"Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these
over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens." Exodus 18:21 (NASB) Holy Bible
"Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom." Psalm 51:6 (NASB) Holy Bible
"Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:" Proverbs 3:3 (KJV) Holy Bible
"and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”" John 8:32 (NASB) Holy Bible
"Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6 (KJV)
Holy Bible
* Righteousness Ecc 12:13-14; Micah 6:8; Matt 10:16
"13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments [e.g., be righteous], for this is the
duty of all mankind. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good [righteous] or
evil [unrighteous]." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NIV) Holy Bible
"He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justice [e.g., righteousness], to love kindness, And
to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8 (NASB) Holy Bible
"Behold, I [JESUS] send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and
harmless [e.g., righteous, innocent, honest] as doves." Matthew 10:16 (KJV) Holy Bible
* Follow the Master's Example Deut 1:35-36; John 13:15; 14:12; I Pet 2:21; 5:3
"35 Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers. 36 Save Caleb the son
of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the
Lord." Deuteronomy 1:35-36 (KJV) Holy Bible
"For I [JESUS] have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." John
13:15 (KJV) Holy Bible
"Verily, verily, I [JESUS] say unto you, He that believeth on me [JESUS], the
works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do [by following JESUS' example, and with His
help]; because I go unto my Father." John 14:12 (KJV) Holy Bible
"For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ [JESUS] also suffered for you, leaving you an example
for you to follow in His steps," 1 Peter 2:21 (NASB) Holy Bible
"not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock." 1 Peter 5:3 (ESV) Holy Bible
* FIGHT for the TRUTH! Prov 24:10; Luke 14:31; Sirach 4:28
"If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." Proverbs 24:10 (KJV) Holy Bible
"Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten
thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?" Luke 14:31 (NKJV) Holy Bible
"Strive for the truth unto death, and the Lord shall fight for thee." Sirach 4:28 (KJV) Holy Bible
"Fight to the death for truth, and the Lord God will fight for you." Sirach 4:28 (NRSV, 1989) Holy Bible
Truth is the strongest, most stable force in the Universe
Truth doesn't change because you disbelieve it
TRUTH doesn't bend to the will of tyrants
Get Truth!
"First, they [Nazis] came for the Jews. I was silent. I was
not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came for the trade unionists. I was silent. I was not a
trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me."(Martin Niemöller, given credit for a quotation in The Harper Religious and
Inspirational Quotation Companion, ed. Margaret Pepper(New York: Harper &Row, 1989), 429 -as cited on page 44, note 17,of Religious Cleansing in the
American Republic, by Keith A. Fornier,Copyright 1993, by Liberty, Life, and Family Publications. Some versions have Mr. Niemöller saying: "Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a
Protestant"; other versions have him saying that they came for Socialists, Industrialists, schools, the press,and/or the Church; however, it's certain he
DID say SOMETHING like this. Actually, they may not have come for the Jews first, as it's more likely they came for the prisoners, mentally handicapped,
&other so-called "inferiors" first -as historians tell us-so they could get "practiced up"; however, they did come for them -due to the silence of
their neighbors -and due in part to their own silence. So: "Speak
up now or forever hold your peace!"
-G
W
W
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Things are not always what they seem...” (Phaedrus)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and
corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers
conquered.” (Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt. (Sherlock Holmes, “The Yellow Face” Arthur Conan Doyle)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.”
(Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” (Sherlock Holmes: “A Study in Scarlet,” by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
Sherlock Holmes Quote -A Scandal in Bohemia
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes:
“The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 6, p. 111, by Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.” (Sherlock Holmes: “The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 1, p. 92, by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"How, then, did you deduce the telegram?"
"Why, of course I knew that you had not written a letter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a
sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the post-office for, then, but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors, and
the one which remains must be the truth." (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 1 - The Science of Deduction)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-01.html
“"How came he, then?" I reiterated. "The door is locked; the window is inaccessible. Was it through the chimney?"
"The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already considered that possibility."
"How, then?" I persisted.
"You will not apply my precept," he said, shaking his head. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the window, or the chimney. We also know that he could not have
been concealed in the room, as there is no concealment possible. When, then, did he come?"
"He came through the hole in the roof!" I cried.
"Of course he did. He must have done so. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me, we shall now extend our researches to the room
above -- the secret room in which the treasure was found."” (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 6 - Sherlock Holmes Gives a
Demonstration)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-06.html
“"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered...I
believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored
to the people, to whom it properly belongs."”
“The first part of the quotation ("If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the
continent their Fathers conquered") has not been found anywhere in Thomas Jefferson's writings, to Albert Gallatin or otherwise. It is identified in
Respectfully Quoted as spurious, and the editor further points out that the words "inflation" and "deflation" are not documented until after Jefferson's
lifetime.
The second part of the quotation ("I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...") may well be a
paraphrase of a statement Jefferson made in a letter to John Taylor in 1816. He wrote, "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments
are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling
futurity on a large scale."
The third part of this quotation ("The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs") may be a
misquotation of Jefferson's comment to John Wayles Eppes, "Bank-paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must be restored to the nation to whom
it belongs."” [Internal citations removed]
* * CONSERVATIVE NEWS THAT MATTERS: The Register * *
**** ECONOMY / POLITICS / SCIENCE / HEALTH -- Amid unprecedented levels of spending and National Debt, "true" Conservatives rise up in GOP backlash against "Liberal" incumbents in 2024 GOP Primary
season: With surprising new endorsements for challengers, Barbosa & Judge, Central Florida's Dist.15 Congressional Race is becoming the most contested GOP Primary in Florida (Mon.19 Aug. 2024)
** Local news media give varying coverage of this new development ** SCIENCE / HEALTH: Are some people able to detect earthquakes, solar flares due to fluctuations in earth's
geomagnetic field or LF (low frequency) sounds? (Mon.19 Aug. 2024)
As the American economy experiences unprecedented levels of spending -- which drive record levels of national debt (the U.S, goes another trillion dollars in debt every 90--100 days,
according to many leading experts, and as reported by CNBC,
Forbes, Yahoo! Finance, and confirmed by a basic
Google search) -- Jennifer Barbosa and James Judge, both of whom "answered the call" from
former president, Donald Trump, to challenge GOP congresswoman, Laurel Lee, as we previously reported, have accused Lee, the incumbent, of being "Liberal" on a
number of fronts.
Even after Trump reversed course, and eventually endorsed Lee, the backlash by "true" Conservatives against so-called tax/spend RINOS (Republicans in Name Only) has only picked up steam:
** James Judge, a U.S. Coast Guard veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, was recently endorsed by the
Winter Haven (Fla.) 9-12 Project(LINKS: -1- **
-2- ** -3- **
-4- **
-5-) Moreover, as reported by Dr.
Ed Shoemaker, Republican Party of Florida State Committeeman, for Polk County, Fla.: "The only variance as far as Polk County Republican Liberty Caucus is concerned as it relates to the WH912
Voter Guide is that The State Republican Liberty Caucus endorsed Amilee Stuckey for State House Dist 48," meaning they, also, endorse Judge (instead of Lee) for the GOP Primary in
CD-FL-15. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- **
-4-
** -5-) Lastly, although The Tampa Bay Times didn't endorse Judge
this time, when challenging Lee (LINKS: -1- **
-2- ** -3-), nonetheless, the "U.S. House of Representatives: The Times Editorial Board recommendations," published 7/27/2022, last election cycle, recommended Judge, in the GOP
Primary, when he ran for Congress is Florida's 14th Congressional District. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- **
-3-)
** Not to be outdone, Jennifer Barbosa, the Plant City, FL paralegal, who ran for Congress in a long-shot bid to unseat
powerful Democrat Congressman, Adam Schiff, when she lived in California, has picked up heavyweight endorsements Pastor Don Hazen, the 82-year-old founder of United Pastors of America, famous for
writing about the moral decline of our nation (Official Page ** Facebook) has endorsed Barbosa: (-1: Video- ** Screenshots:
-2- ** -3- **
-4- **
-5-) Moreover, while not necessarily formally endorsing Barbosa, as much
is implied when world-famous pastor, Dr. Rodney Howard Browne, introduces her when she visited his Tampa,
Florida church: (-1: Video- ** Screenshots: -2- ** -3- ** -4- ** -5-) Lastly, as reported by both The
Ledger (LINKS: -1-
** -2- ** -3-) and Lkld Now -- Non-profit & independent Lakeland, Fla. news, a project of a Lakeland 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Linking Community Now Inc. (LINKS:
-1- ** -2-
** -3- ** -4- ** -5- **),
Sheriff Richard Mack, Founder and President of Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA) has endorsed Barbosa.
** Furthermore -- besides this newfound energy to defeat the well-funded Lee, in spite of Trump's flip-flop "reversal" -- many Conservative watchdog groups are now giving Lee low marks -- which
suggest that the concerns/complaints made by Judge, Barbosa, and their supporters is not isolated, but part of a larger "revolt" against Lee, and other so-called RINO's, for their refusal to
address key "Conservative" issues, such as irresponsible spending and soaring national debt -- which devalue currency and threaten a crash of the dollar:
** FreedomIndex gives Lee a score of 53 for adherence to The Constitution (limited government, fiscal responsibility, etc.). By contrast, Matt Gaetz is ranked 85, Anna Paulina Luna,
96, and Scott Franklin, another lawmakers often criticised as a 'RINO' by watchdogs —clocked in at only at only 70. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4- ** -5-)
** Lee has a lifetime score of only 55% from The John Birch Society. By contrast, Luna is ranked 100%, Greg Steube, 86%, but Franklin only scores 73%. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4- ** -5-)
** Moreover, Club for Growth, a Conservative watchdog, focused on limited government and conservative economic policy, scores Laurel Lee, R-FL-15 at 66% and her colleague in the
district "next door," Congressman Scott Franklin, R-FL-18, at 81%. By contrast, Florida representatives Byron Donalds, Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Greg Steube, Bill Posey, and Michael Waltz
all score a perfect 100%. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4- ** -5-)
** Lastly, Heritage Action, which was founded in 2010 to fight for conservative policies in State and Federal legislation, scores both Lee and Franklin at a modest 71%. By contrast,
Donalds and Luna both score 98%, and Corey Mills 100% (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4-
** -5- ** -6-)
** In addition, The Register's independent investigation found that -- even being generous with definitions -- only 8.14% of all GOP
lawmakers even attempt to comply with key planks in the official Republican Party platform, which prohibit taxpayer dollars from funding student loan originations for higher education
(as is done in public education -- where, for example, you don't have 5TH graders with student loans -- but rather direct funding and cost controls) -- a finding which is in agreement with other
complaints made against GOP lawmakers. (LINKS: -1- **
-2- ** -3- **
-4-)
** Another Conservative Watchdog, OpenTheBooks, confirms this new trend of excess spending among GOP lawmakers: They found that the GOP-led “Freedom Caucus” earmarked far more than
the Democrat-led “Squad” ($23.1 million/member vs. $13.9 million for the average Squad member), which supports our findings above and our assessment that we are nearing
a crash of the dollar. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3-)
Besides the widespread consensus, above, of failures of at least 91.86% of all Republican lawmakers to keep their word to obey their platform (which says: “The federal
government should not be in the business of originating [making] student loans.,” p.35 Official GOP Platform) The Register's investigation also found
that only about 18.1% of all Democrat lawmakers make a genuine attempt to obey their Democrat Party's platform on a similar plank (“Democrats will also empower the CFPB to take
action against exploitative lenders and will work with Congress to allow student debt to be discharged during bankruptcy,” p.71, par.1, sentence 2, official Democrat Platform). (LINKS:
-1- ** -2- **
-3- ** -4-)
A widespread failure of all lawmakers in both parties to keep their word to obey their own party platforms (8.14% compliance rate for GOP and 18.1% for Democrat lawmakers
by our audit) is thought to play a role in the dismal approval ratings Congress now
enjoys: Pew Research reports that: “About seven-in-ten Americans (72%) say they have an unfavorable view of Congress, with 26% saying they have a favorable view,” a very low approval
rating. (LINKS: -1-
** -2- ** -3-)
In spite of record lows in approval ratings Congress enjoys, Americans continue to reelect incumbent politicians to office: Balletopedia reports that “Congressional incumbents had a 98%
win rate. Forty-one states had a 100% win rate in congressional races.” (LINKS: -1-
** -2- ** -3-)
Besides the many large outside watchdogs which offer an objective overview of the rising anger and frustration among Americans with Congress, Register editor, Gordon Watts, occasionally
tries to do his fair share to address critical needs by seeking help of "larger" news media, locally.
Watts, as a result of the lack of responsiveness by Lee, his member of Congress, wrote a letter to The Ledger, critical of Trump's endorsement of Lee, based on her 'Liberal RINO' spending record, which published June 30 of this year, in their Sunday
edition, both online and
in print. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- **
-4-)
As of press time, it appears that Watts' letter, taking Lee to task, has not published in The Times, and Watts is critical of the paper for not hearing all views. Watts' concern is not
alone: GOP Candidate, James Judge, mentioned earlier in our coverage, has this to say in
a guest column to Tampa Free Press:
"In response to The Times’ “six recommendations for U.S. House candidates” in Florida, I have my own recommendation to those reading this piece: you’d be better off lining your birdcages with the
Times, which has become the Tampa version of Pravda."
"James Judge: Tampa Bay Times Misleads Audience, Fawns Over Establishment RINO," by James Judge, Opinion, TAMPA FREE PRESS,
July 28, 2024, LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4- ** -5-
As a result of the many complaints that The Times has a 'Liberal' bias, The Register conducted our own audit of
The Tampa Bay Times' Letters to the Editor section, for the last two (2) election cycles. We found that, for the 2022 Primary Election cycle (from 7/27/2022 when The Times
published its recommendations to 8/23/2022, Primary Election day), of the total 64 letters published, 29 leaned Democrat, 8 Republican, and 27 were neither, with a metric of 362.5% as many
Democrat-leaning letters published, objective proof of a clear bias. We also found that, for this, 2024 Primary Election cycle (from 7/24/2024 when The Times published its
recommendations today, Monday, 8/19/2022, one day before Primary Election day), of the total 96 letters published, 41 leaned Democrat, 13 Republican, and 42 were neither, with a metric of 315.4%
as many Democrat-leaning letters published, more evidence to support claims of a 'Liberal' of bias. We note that The Times, published 50% more letters thus far, even though they no
longer publish every day, a cost-cutting measure due to decreased demand for their product: Nowadays, The Times usually only publishes an "in print" edition on Sundays and Wednesdays,
and online only on Fridays. Their expansion of their letters sections seems to be an attempt to compensate for less days published. (LINKS: -1- ** -2- ** -3- ** -4-)
Political pundits are closely watching central Florida's District 15 Congressional race due to the thin margin this newly-redrawn district gives each side, making it a very competitive and hotly
contested race -- both for the Primary and the General Election. Pundits and experts are keeping an eye, more broadly, on national races this election season, and watching closely to see whether
the record lows in "approval ratings" for Congress will translate into voting out the incumbents -- or, whether American voters will continue to reelect incumbent politicians with "a 98% win
rate," as Balletopedia reports.
SCIENCE / HEALTH -- “The Charlotte King Effect – Real or Imagined?”
Does earthquake, volcano, & solar weather researcher, Charlotte King, have an ability to sense LF (low frequency),
VLF (very low frequency), and ULF (ultra low frequency) sound and EMF / Radio waves, and fluctuations in earth's geomagnetic field to detect earthquakes and other
phenomena?(Mon.19 Aug. 2024)
Earthquake researcher, Charlotte King, has been featured in many news reports and studied extensively by the scientific community, and is most notably famous for her accurate prediction of the
famous Mount St. Helen's eruption, in SW WASHINGTON STATE, which erupted at 8:32 A.M., on May 18, 1980, and taking the lives of 57 people. Subsequent news coverage of King reports that
“Charlotte King's first claim to fame is that she predicted the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helen's with 12 minutes.” Source: “Fun With Predictions: The Bryant Park Project,” by Laura Conaway,
NPR, 03 January 2008, 1:26 PM (ET), LINKS:
-1- **
-2- **
-3-
SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH: It is well-known that many animals can sense magnetic direction to navigate and can see and hear above and below the range of humans. If people can sense this, perhaps they
can detect or predict solar flares, earthquakes and other phenomenon. Scientific research shows
that LF and VLF sounds do predict earthquakes. LINKS:
Related: "Probability estimation of a catastrophic Carrington-like geomagnetic storm: Re-evaluated in new light of upcoming Maunder Minimum and recent decreases in geomagnetic field, after recent
studies came to conflicting conclusions; Proposed solutions for citizens and lawmakers"
**** POLITICS -- Central Florida's Dist.15 Congressional Race Heating Up (Thr.20 June 2024)
Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL-15), who has been repeatedly criticised both by The Register and constituents on her social media for -- among other things --
refusing to file legislation to attempt to cut spending excesses -- finally drew the ire of former President Trump, who called on
fellow-Republicans to defeat her in her upcoming GOP
primary, according to Politico, apparently because Lee was
the lone Florida lawmaker to support Gov. DeSantis in his failed presidential bid. (Trump
Tweet here) Consequently, two GOP challengers, Jennifer Barbosa
and James Judge, answered the call and are challenging Lee. Not long after that, however, Trump did a "flip flop"
and, according to
Florida Politics and other news agencies, changed his mind and endorsed Lee. In the interim, The Register sent out
a press inquiry to all four candidates (Barbosa, Judge, Kemp, and Lee),
asking whether they support reinstatement of bankruptcy availability to student loans, and, if not, what was their explanation as to why the GOP has repeatedly failed to
cut spending on student loan originations (for the GOP candidates) as the Republican Party Platform specifically requires --or, for the lone Democrat, why she would refuse to
obey her Democrat platform (which promises to support reinstatement of bankruptcy availability). The Register was successfully able to convince 2 of the 3 GOP
candidates that bankruptcy rights for student loans was necessary to operate as a Conservative Free Market "check" on excess and dangerous Dept of Ed lending using our
tax dollars: Republican candidate, James Judge, responded publicly,
on his Facebook
(saved snapshot linked here), where he said:
"When elected, I will work to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. Additionally, student loans should be allowed to be included in bankruptcy." A very lively
discussion ensued. Subsequently, Republican candidate, Jennifer Barbosa responded to The
Register's press inquiry with an emailed response, in which she stated that
"I support reinstating bankruptcy for student debt," in addition to making allegations of misappropriation of campaign funds for one of her primary opponents.
Previously, Barbosa -- like Judge -- had also reaffirmed her support for abolishing
the U.S. Department of Education, a view held by many conservatives, where she responded: "Yes, Gordon, it’s nice to see more conservatives getting on board with
abolishing the Department of Education, something I have been in favor of doing for years. It’s also nice to meet another sincere Christian. There are so many good, honest
Christians in our district. We are blessed. Unfortunately in politics, there are also candidates who pose as pio[s] bearing false witness, engaging in adultery, stealing
campaign donations..." As of press time, however, neither Pat Kemp (Democrat)
nor Laurel Lee, Republican (incumbent) has responded to our press inquiry as to where they stand on legislation to
reinstate bankruptcy rights to collegiate debt --or make use of bankruptcy to force Dept of Ed lending to tamp down and reduce loan limits to save trillions on spending
when we currently have a debt crisis according to many experts. While The Register is withholding its formal endorsement on any candidate for this race, we have --
as previously reported -- disavowed Lee as a true Conservative for her repeated refusals to attempt spending cuts, but note that she is new and does not enjoy the benefit of
a Republican Senate or President to aid any legislation she might file, unlike previous sessions of Congress where we document how both
Republicans and Democrats refuse to file needed legislation that their own platform calls for -- even when they have "full control" of both houses and Oval Office -- a
chief complaint of many Americans who have accused Congress of being afraid to act and address problems that they have promised to fix. -- and a likely cause of the low
popularity ratings Congress enjoys. In the meantime, Barbosa and Judge have sparred over several issues in their GOP Primary race.
After complaints made by Judge to various state officials that Barbosa
committed fraud by lying on her Candidate Oath,
the Central Florida Post reported that Barbosa's recent registration change to the Republican Party caused her filed Oath statement to be false regarding
the requirements she be a Republican for at least 365 days.
(LINK ** Archives:
*1* **
*2* **
*3* **)
The Register reached out to her for a response, and, among other things,
Barbosa told The Register that: "Gordon, [] The answer to your question about my eligibility is very straightforward. [] I have exceeded all the qualifications
to be on the ballot, including being a registered Republican for well over 365 days." Intrigued, The Register conducted our own investigation and determined
that, indeed Barbosa had recently changed her voter registration, but, an official response
from the LA RECORDER'S OFFICE said, in succinct part, that: "09/2015 to 01/2017: Republican Party," which would exceed the 365-day requirement, but not be immediately
before as some have claimed is necessary. Subsequent news coverage by The
Tampa Bay Times, which published on print only (not online) confirmed our investigation, but William March, writing for The Times went on to report that Barbosa,
who relied on "an unusual interpretation of Florida election law," denied she broke the law. March went on to report that neither the Fla. statute nor the actual oath
affidavit has the word "the" in front of "365 days," leaving open the possibility that the 365-day period not, necessarily, be "the" exact year immediately before filing, and an
elections expert he consulted did not dispute Barbosa's interpretation or weigh on on it either way.
Barbosa also had complaints of her own about Judge, where she accused him of misappropriation of campaign funds because he used his PR firm to do many tasks (flyers, website,
etc.) instead of hiring outside help, where she writes that Judge "launders campaign donations to himself and his wife," and that "This is worse than Ilhan
Omar. She was caught paying her brotherhusband’s consulting firm excessive fees from her campaign," according to
her Facebook page(Cache here), where she cited
FEC data to back her claim. There, also, a lively discussion ensued. Judge, in response,
posted a link to a video, where he responded, and claimed that his PR firm could do the job for less, not more,
and thus saved money in doing the job in-house. When we asked her to defend this claim in light of Judge's claims that he could save money by doing the PR work in-house,
Barbosa gave us this written response, which said, in succinct part: "3rd
parties don't save you money. They cost you money. [] Look at his receipts. [] He claims he paid $3000 for Koozies and that this was a special deal which could only happen
if he ran it through his PR firm. No it isn't. That's a horrible deal and an affront to the "fiscal conservatism" he claims to support. [] We need Congresspeople who care
about how they spend money since they control the nation's purse strings. [] Koozies are 1 penny each on Amazon. [] At $3000, that's 300,000 koozies. [] What is he doing
with 300,000 koozies? [] We don't even have 300.000 Republicans in 2 Congressional districts combined. [] Is he the Mike Lindell of koozies? [] No, his PR firm overcharged
his campaign for koozies so he could make a profit." (The [] denotes a line-break--Editor)
We asked her for clarification: "Great answers, but he also claims to use contributions for both website, flyers, merch, etc," and Barbosa
responded in succinct part that: "Yes, I just used the Koozies as one example.
[] His PR firm overcharged his campaign for many things, not just koozies. [] Again, the idea that acting as a 3rd party saves money is absurd. Where's the savings. Those
are horrible prices. He is not a fiscal conservative. [] We all use campaign donations for website, flyers, merch. [] The difference is, we don't overpay for them. We also
don't invent excuses to pay ourselves and our spouses..."
The Register was unable to determine, with any specificity, whether Judge over-paid or not -- but in any event, the FEC does not appear to be poised to levy a fine
regarding for violations regarding use of campaign funds, so Barbosa's misappropriation complaint -- like Judge's oath-affidavit complaint -- seem to be lacking in any
legal violations that would disqualify a candidate, and The Register takes no official stance in our editorial columns regarding this other than to say our legal
analyses see not violations for either candidate, and that the voters will be the ultimate "judges" of these controversies. However, the refusals of
Congresswoman Laurel M. Lee (R-FL-15) to make any attempts to file legislation to reduce or eliminate the student
loan originations at the heart of the excess spending -- and which prompted our own investigation -- are of concern to economists
everywhere as student debt is well-documented to be the largest area of discretionary spending, and thus,
the low-hanging fruit and first target-choice of things to cut in the budget.
As stated earlier, we are not optimistic for meaningful student loan bankruptcy or "pork" spending cuts being done by the "split Congress," due to gridlock
prospects: if either party could not get their "signature" legislation done when they had "full control" (student loan bankruptcy legislation for DEMS and
pork spending cuts to student loan originations for the GOP), what hope is there now with shared control of Congress (GOP in House and DEMS in Senate &
Oval Office)? We, therefore, ask readers to contact lawmakers to stop infighting and return bankruptcy rights
(LINK ; Mirror-1 ; Mirror-2 ; Archive Today ; Wayback) to student loans to avert economic disaster:
Otherwise, there will be no sufficient Conservative Free Market check on
irresponsible lending by Dept of Ed, to the tune of trillions = equals the needle the breaks the camel's back, collapses the U.S. economy, & crashes the
dollar. PERMA-LINK: #Congress2024
**** NEWS --Friends of The Register (Sat.30 Sept. 2023) (UPDATED: Tue.26 Dec. 2023)
After various distractions and some technical difficulties, here is current news, but of an unexpected type: Many friends have helped The Register, and now it is our turn to help them.
** 1 of 5: Roberet J. More -- Mr. More (unlike our other 4 friends, below) is not requesting The Register and allies "put out word" (news coverage) for financial donations. Rather, readers are asked ONLY to visit
Mr. More's YouTube channel and subscribe -- so that he may obtain fifty (50) subscribers -- and, thereby, be able to live stream so videos are safely saved to the cloud immediately --
as security precaution if in danger, to ensure documentation of the events. SHORT VERSION: Please go to https://www.youtube.com/@54mlesna, and click subscribe.
LONG VERSION: (If anyone has questions) Website: https://Jn21-15Protctr.Tripod.com ; Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Robert.More.545 ; YouTube: https://www.YouTube.com/@54mlesna -- These are Mr. More's only official websites. And, as depicted
on his business card, here is his official contact information: Phone: (708)522-9385 ; Backup: (708)317-8812 ; Note: The (773)996-3218 shown on Mr. More's business card is outdated.
E-mail: Anselm45@Gmail.com ; E-mail: ismaBureauCh4@Gmail.com -- For context, here is our business card. Proof that his claim of need for fifty (50) YouTube subscribers to stream is correct: LINK ;
Archive Today ; Wayback ;
(Screenshot) We only got Robert from 11 to 31, in the last few days, but he needs only 29 more to get to 50. **
** 2 of 5: Alan Collinge -- Astute readers will recall special news coverage we gave Mr. Collinge,
a regular guest on COAST TO COAST: AM, the legendary overnight call-in show, in prior news coverage, and our Liberal readers will certainly
celebrate Collinge's petition to cancel student debt, which incredibly received over one million signatures. However, some Conservative readers may wonder why The Register
would support Collinge, given this salient fact, so an explanation is in order: Collinge's advocacy mainly seeks legislation for restoration and reinstatement of Constitutionally-protected (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4, U.S. CONSTITUTION) bankruptcy
rights which were stripped from student loans (a "Constitutional" reason is Conservative), not for cancellation of student debt (which was a very recent add-on). We support Collinge's call for reinstatement of Bankruptcy Uniformity, as our
Constitution calls for, for one very key reason: as other Conservatives, even, point out, the removal of bankruptcy defense from student loans has allowed lending (using Trillions in tax dollars) to continue unchecked, and our own analysis of the
situation finds that ONLY reinstatement of this necessary Conservative Free Market "check" will make it possible to reduce (hopefully eliminate) "Liberal pork" student loan subsidy originations spending--thereby averting a crash
of the dollar, and inevitable collapse of the U.S. economy. However, if this is not plainly clear, let's hear from another very-far-right Conservative Republican: Congressman Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06) has made similar arguments. Grothman writes, in
salient part: "If there is no risk of the federal government and private lenders losing money through the bankruptcy process, then these actors have no reason to responsibly lend to student borrowers. In turn, institutions of higher education,
who have little accountability and access to an endless pool of student aid dollars, continue to inflate the cost of tuition for our students." Grothman goes on to write: "“Because of our bankruptcy laws, credit card companies and other
lenders will not loan money if they do not expect it will be repaid. Sadly, in the 1970s, Congress took this safeguard away from students applying for federal loans." SOURCE: Grothman Press Release ** Archive Today ** Wayback ** Mirror-1 ** Mirror-2 **
Mirror-3 ** Grothman concludes his press release by saying that "“Out-of-control student loan costs and wasteful spending, coupled with high
tuition prices, must come to an end for the sake of our students. If this [student loan bankruptcy] bill becomes law, it will force all federal student lenders, including the federal government, to become more responsible.”," which is key to
avoiding a crash of the dollar: Student Debt, at over $2 Trillion, is almost ten (10%) percent of total U.S. Debt, a point Conservative readers must not forget when wondering if Collinge is worthy of our assistance. Here is where readers may
donate: StudentLoanJustice.org ** PayPal ** BackBoneCampaign.org ** GoFundMe **
** 4 of 5: KEVIN F.F. Montague -- Readers certainly recall our own scientific research into America's cancer epidemic, slipping rank in life-span, as well as our obesity epidemic, powered by editor, Gordon
W. Watts' deep educational background. However, even Watts finds Mr. Montague's research impressive, and has purchased all his products. We wrote about Montague previously in this
space, and readers can buy his products at the links listed. However, Montague, a guest on the legendary COAST TO COAST: AM, is struggling to save his family
house, & avoid homelessness. Many "GoFundMe" campaigns seek donations, but Kevin's case warrants priority: Watts has known Kevin since November 2019, when he was a guest on COAST TO COAST: AM, almost 4 years, has sufficient research credentials to
verify Montague's work, and has no financial conflict of interest (is not getting paid to seek help). Watts reports: "if I could have just 1 other resource besides my own research, it would be his. Even after he got my $$ he still was available 2
answer my questions! Good guy! --Gordon Wayne Watts BS, The Florida State University double major with honours." We were very impressed with how his GoFundMe got enough donations to make 2 of his 3 required mortgage refi payments, and we wish to get him his 3rd, and save his home. Here are the three primary donation portals: GoFundMe ** PayPal ** Fundly ** Curious readers
may also watch the video by GoFundMe organiser, Michael Santos, who, along with Watts and others, can verify his honour and integrity.
Montague's Facebook is also available for review.
** 5 of 5: Joanna Kearns --Register editor, Gordon Watts, and Collinge, shown above, both can personally also vouch for the integrity of Ms. Kearns, and respectfully asks readers to consider helping her too, regarding the
loss of her father and her pet dog: GoFundMe **
**** POLITICS --TRIPLE HEADER: I. DEMS don't keep their word. GOP settles in after raucous infighting. "Gridlock" expected ; II.
Small 'ray of hope' exists III. Analysis of unusual written statement from Consumer Bankers Association entered into an old, 2010 House Judiciary Hearing by
committee member, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), who is current Chairman of House Judiciary IV. BONUS: Subsequently, we interviewed Rep. Virginia Foxx
(R-NC-05), Chairwoman of House Education/Workforce; while initially resistant to Constitutional Bankruptcy uniformity (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4), she said she'd
consider our "Free Market" arguments (Sun.15 Jan. 2023 ; UPDATED: Wed.05 Feb. 2023)
** I. DEMS don't keep their word. GOP settles in after raucous infighting. "Gridlock" expected **
As previously reported, most Democrat lawmakers and most Republican lawmakers fail to keep their word on key higher ed
funding party platform planks. We have often been very critical of most GOP lawmakers for not keeping their word to follow our Official GOP Platform's prohibition against the Liberal Pork spending
of use of tax dollars to originate (make) student loans (a contentious issue of late). Likewise, others have been very critical of
Democrats, who had a rare opportunity to pass legislation when they held House, Senate, & Oval Office, but failed to keep their word to
restore Constitutional bankruptcy & other standard consumer protections to
student loans, as their official Party Platform promises: Well-known student debt expert, Alan Collinge, author of the famous million signature petition, calling for restoration of constitutionally-protected bankruptcy uniformity, wrote on 12/24/2022, that "Democrats controlling Congress- frankly betrayed their obligation to return constitutional bankruptcy rights
to student loans" (LINK ; Archives: -1- ; -2- ; -3- ; -4-), and tweeted, replying to Sen.
Dick Durbin, "You BETRAYED 38 million distressed student loan borrowers. Shame on you, and shame on @TheDemocrats." (LINK ; Archives: -1- ; -2- ; -3-) Now that DEMS have lost the House to the
GOP in the recent 2022 mid-terms elections, many,
perhaps most, political pundits expect much gridlock and lack of
meaningful legislation in the foreseeable future. We do not hold out high hopes that DEM and GOP lawmakers can work together to address the twin crises of
insanely unaffordable college (a valid concern of Liberals/Dems) and debt ceiling & concomitant crash of the dollar (a valid concern of
Conservatives/GOP), but, in the meantime, we are in a "watch and wait" mode.
** II. A small "ray of hope" exists **
Since the initial Jan. 15, 2023 publication of this news regarding how both political parties have angered and alienated large swaths of their base
(not to mention even larger portions of the "political base" of the opposing party), we began to notice a few small signs of hope that there may be
a way around the impasse from some "unlikely sources":
* (#1) First, the undersigned author noticed a response from Sen. Chuck Grassley
(R-IA) regarding S.2598, the FRESH START Through
Bankruptcy Act, a bill which we believe is necessary for force down excess Dept of Ed lending, and thereby prevent/avert a crash of the
dollar. Long-time IOWA Republican Senator, Chuck Grassley, who turns 90 later
this year, and is "ranking member" on the Senate Judiciary Committee,
writes: "As I mentioned in the [Judiciary Committee] hearing [held on Aug. 3, 2021], I am open to the concepts in this [student loan bankruptcy] bill," in
his letter dated Jan. 11, 2023, to the undersigned writer. This is quite
surprising given how the GOP has, historically, been less supportive of constitutional bankuptcy uniformity as applied to collegiate debt. Grassley goes on to say: "I would like to see certain changes to
this proposal, but I am hopeful that we will be able to find a solution that works for all those involved. As you likely know, this bill did not pass
during the previous session of Congress and would need to be reintroduced in the new 118th Congress. As Senator Durbin continues to pursue the bill, I look
forward to working with him on it." (LINK ;
local archive ;
Wayback archive) Watts issued a formal response,
dated 25 Jan. 2023(LINK ;
local archive ;
Wayback archive), along with some "additional
tips," the following day, 26 Jan 2023. (LINK ;
local archive ;
Wayback archive) ; and, noticing some key omissions, he followed up with a 3RD reply on Thr. 2-2-2023 and a 4TH reply on
Mon. 2-6-2023, to correct some cc line errors and with an emphasis on protecting the fragile power and telecommunications grid: (2-2-23 addendum
LINK ; local archive ; Wayback archive *** 2-6-23 cc corrections LINK ; local archive ; Wayback archive) Editor's Note: While the GOP has, historically, been resistant to bankruptcy uniformity for student
borrowers, nonetheless, Rep. Foxx's willingness to consider our arguments (see section IV., below) builds on prior momentum with known-Conservative
Republicans, such as Sens. Grassley, Cornyn, and Hawley --and Reps. Gaetz (R-FL-01), Norman (R-SC-05), Katko (R-NY-24), Christoper Smith (R-NJ-04), and
Grothman (R-WI-06), all of who have filed and/or spoken out strongly in favour of student loan bankruptcy: PDF: LINK ** Local archive ** Wayback Machine ** *.html webpage: LINK ** Archive Today ** Wayback Machine
* (#2) Next, astute readers will notice that Watts' reply to Grassley's emailed response cc copied his new Member of Congress,
U.S. Rep. Laurel M. Lee (R-FL-15), who replaced
U.S. Rep. C. Scott Franklin (R-FL-18) when Franklin's
district shifted boundries, placing him in the
Florida's newly-redrawn 18th Congressional District. While Lee, the wife of former Florida State Senate president Tom Lee, is an "unknown quantity" and "new face" in federal politics, and has made no known public statements regarding her views of
constitutional bankruptcy uniformity as applied to collegiate debt (something we
would expect conservatives to support, as the U.S. Constitution's Bankruptcy Uniformity Clause, Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4, is quite unambiguous and clear here),
nonetheless, her staff has been kind enough to confirm receipt of legislative requests of her constituent, Plant City, Florida resident, Gordon W. Watts,
editor/publisher of this online blog. Additionally, while Lee's VoteSmart profile(LINK ;
Archive Today ; Wayback ; local snapshot 1 ; local snapshot 2) does not indicate what, if any, religion she proclaims, nonetheless, sources inform us that Lee is a practicing
Christian, and this intel seems to be confirmed by her public wearing of a cross (see file photo, shown above), as well as the VoteSmart profile of her husband, Tom Lee, listing him as a Catholic Christian. (LINK ; Archive Today ; Wayback ; local snapshot 1 ; local snapshot 2) This gives us a "small ray of hope" that freshman Congresswoman, Laurel Lee (R-FL-15), will support bankruptcy
equality, as this would be inferred from an honest reading of the "golden rule" found in her Christian Bible in numerous places (Leviticus 19:18b,
Leviticus 19:34, Matthew 22:39b, Mark 12:31b, Luke 6:31, Matthew 7:12), and required by no less than Moses and Jesus, two key leaders in her religion.
(LINK (BibleGateway.com) ; See also: "Bible Verses: What the 3
major world religions say VS Collegiate Debt," by Gordon Wayne Watts, Fri, 15 Feb 2019 ; UPDATED, Sun, 23 June 2019, LINK ; local archive ;
Archive Today ; Wayback) The inference is that she treat others as she would want for herself and her rich business-based campaign donors-- and
thus support equal standard consumer protections, including constitutional
bankruptcy uniformity, for student loans, as with all others, including gambling debt and the colleges themselves, who can, and often do, declare
bankruptcy.
* (#3) Thirdly, while many on both sides of the isle were/are very concerned with the selection of Kevin McCarthy as speaker (DEMS because he's a Republican,
and many "far-right" Republicans, who view him as
"swamp," "establishment," and/or RINO (Republican in Name Only), nonetheless, this may work in his favour: C-SPAN quotes McCarthy as saying that Trump bears
some responsibility for the Jan.06 Capitol riots, which will help him gain the trust of Democrats, should he need their help, but stopped short of calling
for criminal prosecution, which should help him gain needed support from fellow-Republicans for critically-needed legislation, should he chose to revisit
the student loan bankruptcy legislation, and seek to use it to "force down" dangerously-high lending/spending by the U.S. Dept of Education, something many
on both sides of the isle are concerned about. (LINK ; Archive Today ; Wayback ; local
snapshot)
* (#4) Lastly, there may be some small ray of hope from a very unexpected source: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been
intensely opposed to student debt forgiveness, is the
last person anyone would expect to afford some help on this front, and is hated by many a Democrat. Additionally, The Register, a far-right,
Conservative online paper, has taken DeSantis to task repeatedly for failure to follow many fiscal or moral
conservative principles, both as Congressman and later as Governor. However, we find some unexpected glimmer of hope: The Daily Caller quoted
DeSantis as saying that universities "have bloated administrative budget," and went on to say that “So my view is if you’re gonna do some type of student
loan relief—it’s not really relief because people are still paying for it — but the people who should pay for it are not the American taxpayer. It should
be the universities who should be responsible for that. If they’re producing people that go deep into debt and their degree is not worth anything and
they’re not able to make enough money to pay it back, well then that’s on them.” This attempt to hold colleges accountable is not unlike Sen. Rick Scott's
(R-FL) COLLEGE ACT bill (S.4772, 117th Congress) or Sen. Dick
Durbin's (D-IL) bipartisan FRESH START Through
Bankruptcy Act (S.2598, 117th Congress), both of which sought to hold colleges accountable financially, which, if taken to extreme measures, could
lower tuition and thereby help the poor and middle-class. Additionally, DeSantis has been very vocal of late about his support for teacher pay raises. Furthermore, DeSantis has come out in opposition to "insurance middlemen" (LINK ; Orlando Weekly ; Google search ;
local snapshot ; Archive Today ;
Wayback), a measure which we advocated in our sister project in the past (LINK ; Mirror-1 ; Mirror-2; Archive Today ; Wayback) That said, we are not optimistic for meaningful student loan bankruptcy or "pork" spending cuts being done by the "split
Congress," due to gridlock.
** III. Analysis of unusual written statement from Consumer Bankers Association entered into an old, 2010 House Judiciary
Hearing by committee member, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH-04), who is current chairman of House Judiciary **
We recently added a 3rd Judiciary Hearing download to our sister project, CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II®(TM)
(LINK:Mirror-1 ; Mirror-2 ; Archive Today ; Wayback) When we were doing research on where House Judiciary chairman, Jim Jordan, stands on student loan bankruptcy uniformity,
as the U.S. Constitution requires, we found an old 2010 hearing (PDF format: LINK via GovInfo.gov ; Local directory ; Mirror-1 archive ; Mirror-2 archive ;
Mirror-3 archive ; Wayback Machine archive ; *.html Webpage format WITHOUT submitted written testimony, which are apparently image files: via GovInfo.gov ; Archive Today cache ; Wayback Machine archive) in which Jordan entered a written statement into the record from the Consumer Bankers Association, and sought to analyze this statement, inferring that he probably agreed with it. This is of key
importance as Jordan now chairs the same committee where he once implied a position on this contentious matter. We hope, shortly, to send a press inquiry
to Jordan's office to see whether he still agrees with the unusual positions taken by this banker's association (in which they supported equal treatment of
all debt and opposed illegal changes to existing contracts, while still somehow opposing legislation that would accomplish these purported goals). We hope
to get a response to our inquiry as to what Jordan thinks of our responses/analysis --and whether he agrees with his GOP counterpart, Ranking Member, Sen.
Chuck Grassley (R-IA), on Grassley's support for the concept of student loan bankruptcy restoration (see above), as it was back when the system
had checks/balances. Without further ado, here are key excerpts from said written testimony --and our analysis:
* IMPORTANT Editor's Note:This
quote from the top of page 58 is dialogue between committee member, Jim Jordan, and acting chair, Hank Johnson, regarding written expert testimony -- and
summarises key points of this issue -- which are key to honouring the U.S. Constitution -- something important to so-called
"Conservatives":
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Chairman Mr. JOHNSON. Yes? Mr. JORDAN. I would just unanimous consent if we could enter the written statement into the record from
the Consumer Bankers Association. Mr. JOHNSON. Without objection. [The information referred to follows:]
* [Written] Testimony Submitted by the Consumer Bankers Association: "The cost of higher education has risen consistently for the past 20
years." (p.60)
* ANALYSIS: We agree -- college was once FREE, a fact
supported by many on both sides of the isle, even Founding Fathers, but now --
with well-documented price-gounging (which is quite illegal), we note with wry irony
that removal of Constitutionally-protected bankruptcy uniformity, the illegal price-gouging (harming both students AND taxpayers)
has gotten worse -- not better -- proving the Founding Fathers' wisdom in spades. Thus, bills like H.R.5043 are needed to restore Conservative Free Market
checks/balances on irresponsibly-excess (and predatory) lending -- a threat to taxpayers (and students).
* [Written] Testimony Submitted by the Consumer Bankers Association: "We have additional issues with this legislation: [] First, the
legislation would apply retroactively." (pp.61-62)
* ANALYSIS: We agree -- as stated above, if these bankers are correct, here, then where was the hue and cry of so-called "Rule and
Law" Conservatives back when the 1998 The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 removed bankruptcy discharge for student loans after seven years in
repayment, and made student loans almost entirely non-dischargeable, thereby violating
long-standing contract law not to mention impairing contracts, a violation of the Art. I, Sec. 10, cl. 1, the legendary CONTRACTS CLAUSE of the U.S.
Constitution? Hrm. In light of this, the changes made back in 1998 (to existing public student loan contracts) and again in 2005 (to existing
private student loan contracts -- see e.g., this quote from the hearing: "In 2005, Congress extended conditional dischargeability to private student loans
issued by for-profit entities without any substantive discussion or empirical evidence to support such an extension. The private student loan industry
contends that such an extension was needed to dissuade borrower abuse of the bankruptcy process and to minimize the risk for lenders, thereby making
private loans affordable." -- pp.1-2) would void ALL existing student loan contracts that were altered, thereby making H.R.5043 and similar bills
required under the law. Thus, their appeal to law fails: he is "OK" with prior illegal changes to existing loan contracts, thus a double standard
exists.
* [Written] Testimony Submitted by the Consumer Bankers Association: "Second, and equally significant, the legislation fails to consider
the unusual circumstances in private student loans which distinguish student loans from other types of consumer loans." (p.62)
* ANALYSIS: Again -- we agree: as shown above, the U.S.
Constitution's BANKRUTCY UNIFORMITY CLAUSE (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4, US Const.), requires that ALL bankruptcy debt be treated uniformly aka equally; thus,
if credit card users, Donald Trump, gamblers -- even rich, greedy colleges themselves -- are afforded basic standard consumer protections, like bankruptcy,
then so should all debt instruments. It is the law of the land, the U.S. Constitution, the highest law of the land, second, probably, only to the law of
God Almighty. And even that supports equal treatment: see e.g., the "golden rule" of three major religions in the "bankruptcy" section just below the opening paragraphs.
* [Written] Testimony Submitted by the Consumer Bankers Association: "Third, and illogically from the perspective of consumers, the
legislation would exempt non-profit lenders -- and the governments -- from the dischargeability rules." (p.62)
* ANALYSIS: Again -- we agree: see immediately above, invoking the U.S. Constitution's BANKRUTCY UNIFORMITY CLAUSE (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4, US Const.), which -- of course -- requires uniform treatment of
ALL debt in U.S. bankruptcy code. Thus, ironically, the various "student loan bankruptcy" bills are actually Sine Qua Non by the U.S.
Constitution's standards on bankruptcy.
* [Written] Testimony Submitted by the Consumer Bankers Association: "Finally, the legislation leaves out the largest student lender of
all: the federal government. It seems absurd to focus attention only on one segment of the student loan marketplace, a segment that in the upcoming
academic year will probably account for a little more than 10 percent of lending, while ignoring the other 90 percent." (p.63)
* ANALYSIS: Not to be repetitive, but, again, we agree: see immediately above, invoking the U.S. Constitution's BANKRUTCY UNIFORMITY CLAUSE (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4, US Const.), which -- of course -- requires uniform treatment of
ALL debt in U.S. bankruptcy code. Thus, ironically, the various "student loan bankruptcy" bills are actually Sine Qua Non by the U.S.
Constitution's standards on bankruptcy.
Finally, these last two (2) written comments need to be addressed:
* JOHN A. HUPALO, RAMIREZ CAPITAL ADVISORS, WESTON, MA: (Expert witness) "Students already face a dizzying array of choices...Furthermore,
with the loss of discharge protection, nonprofit institutions will need to raise the price of their loan products for all borrowers to compensate for the
potential substantial increase of loss due to loans successfully discharged in bankruptcy." (p.68)
* ANALYSIS: We agree -- but what is the problem? Less availability of loans will reduce the debt burden on students, and --
if applied to public (taxpayer-backed) student loans -- would "force down" irresponsibly profligate and excessive lending by the U.S. Department of
Education -- thereby saving taxpayers trillions, something now needed as we keep facing a debt ceiling crisis. Thus, student loan BK legislation is
very necessary to "tamp down" this irresponsible Liberal pork spending for unnecessary loan originations. (Bonus: Colleges would be forced to lower tuition
to affordable levels when they realise that students no longer have a "deep pockets" sugar daddy named "U.S. taxpayer." This is basic Conservative Free
Market forces in action.) Thus -- again -- college debt BK legislation is very-much needed.
* THE FINANCIAL SERVICES ROUNDTABLE: (Expert financial witness which represents 100 of the largest integrated financial services companies providing
banking, insurance, and investment products and services to the American consumer, and accounting purportedly for $74.7 trillion in managed assets, $1.1
trillion in revenue, and 2.3 million jobs) "If student loan borrowers can just walk away from their student loan debt after graduation, it will
severely restrict restrict access to those with need, increase interest rates for all students, and significantly increase the moral hazard in private
student lending. We respectfully urge the Committee to oppose H.R. 5043." (p.72)
* ANALYSIS: We will address these points one-by-one. First, even if student debt was treated as all other debt (such as credit card
debt), borrowers can NOT just "walk away" from a debt: A bankruptcy court would have to allow any discharge, and they can be anywhere from 0.0% to 100%,
inclusive. This is a "red herring" and bald-faced lie. Secondly, we do agree that it would restrict irresponsibly-excessive access to predatory loans, but
we ask: what's the problem? Students and colleges -- both -- got on just fine when college was FREE in America just a few decades back, a fact supported by many on both sides of the political spectrum. Third, if it increases interest rates on an unneeded (and harmful) loan instrument, so
what? This is a moot red herring. Lastly, their claim that constitutional bankruptcy
uniformity would "significantly increase the moral hazard in private student lending" is a patently-false baldfaced lie: By returning standard consumer protections, there
would be a return of Conservative Free Market forces to oppose and reduce the various moral hazards and threats facing three (3) distinct
groups: ((#1.)) students (who would see colleges lower tuition when they to affordable levels), ((#2.)) taxpayers (who would not need to originate -- make
-- student loans in the trillions, and thus be "on the hook"), and ((#3.)) ALL Americans who need doctors, nurses, and engineers, all of whom are in dire
shortage due to the unaffordable costs of college nowdays. Thus, we respectfully urge support bills like H.R.5043 -- both for private and public student
loans, if they are made (and would prefer that no loans be made at all, if possible). Indeed, directly funding college (as we do with public ed)
would probably save taxpayers trillions (and save students too). Finally, if student loan bankruptcy legislation isn't passed into law, we predict that the
lack of free market checks on irresponsible Liberal pork spending absolutely WILL
crash the dollar: student debt -- at over $2 trillion, with a 'T' -- is almost ten (10%) percent of total U.S. debt, and the looming "debt crisis" MUST be
addressed: when The Fed prints enough monies for everyone to have a million dollars, then a million dollars won't be worth much, hurting everyone by the
uber-rich: student debt, as documented elsewhere in this project, is the largest discretionary spending we have, and should be "Number One" on lawmakers'
radar -- and they must act: Time is running out.
** IV. BONUS: Subsequently, we interviewed Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05), Chairwoman of House Education/Workforce; while initially
resistant to Constitutional Bankruptcy uniformity (Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4), she said she'd consider our "Free Market" arguments **
Last week, we noticed The Ledger report that Rep. Foxx was scheduled to speak at SEU (Southeastern University) at this past Monday, 13 February 2023, at
10am in the Welcome Center. (LINKS: -1- ; -2- ; -3-), and which was later republished on Yahoo! News(LINKS: -1- ; -2- ; -3-) SEU politics professor Dennis Ross, a former member of Congress, even posted a notice to his Facebook timeline. We felt that this was a newsworthy event, as Rep. Foxx is currently the Chairwoman of the HOUSE Education/Workforce Committee. (LINK ; Archive Today ; Wayback Machine) The event, which was open to the public, was sponsored by the ACPL (American Center for Political Leadership),
whose director, Prof. Dennis Ross, is director, and he hosted the talk. Foxx took prepared questions, but did not take questions from the audience during
the event, as reported in The Ledger. However, after the talk, Foxx was kind enough to indulge the undersigned writer, and others, in brief
questions. Reading from a brief, prepared question (PDF format: LINK ; Local archive ; Wayback *.html format: LINK ; Local archive ; Archive Today ; Wayback), this writer asked Foxx why she had not tried harder to cut taxpayer-funded student loan subsidies as our GOP Platform
requires, and opined that the lack of bankruptcy as a Conservative Free Market force was lacking, thus nothing restrained the Dept of Ed's excess lending.
Foxx replied that she opposes bankruptcy because borrowers would obtain discharge, implying a type of Liberal Free Handout, but this writer pointed out that
comparing BK self-defense to a free handout was akin to comparing 2nd Amendment self-defense to police abuse, and that this was incorrect: While, yes, BK
filings might initially surge, this is akin to "defunded" police getting their guns back, and an initial surge of violence when "bad guys" are repelled, but
long-term, violence goes down, this writer argued: "A well-armed society is a polite society," and the same would happen with BK filings when BK defense is
restored, as in times past when the system had proper checks/balances against irresponsibly excessive lending with our taxpayer dollars. This writer also
informed Foxx that fellow-Republican, Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI-06), had made similar arguments in his press release regarding H.R.4563, his own student loan bankruptcy bill, where Grothman writes: "If there is no risk of the federal government and private
lenders losing money through the bankruptcy process, then these actors have no reason to responsibly lend to student borrowers. In turn, institutions of
higher education, who have little accountability and access to an endless pool of student aid dollars, continue to inflate the cost of tuition for our
students." Grothman goes on to write: "“Because of our bankruptcy laws, credit card companies and other lenders will not loan money if they do not expect it
will be repaid. Sadly, in the 1970s, Congress took this safeguard away from students applying for federal loans."(LINK ** Archive Today ** Wayback ** Archive-1 ** Archive-2 ** Archive-3)
Grothmans's bill is not unlike the bipartisan
S.2598, another student loan bankruptcy bill, and which had more GOP sponsors than Democrat. Thus, Foxx is not on solid ground to doubt the necessary
Conservative Free Market checks/balances of the threat of bankruptcy defense, and was wise and fair to reconsider her stance here, which agrees with the
"checks" on the system she mentioned in her brief talk at SEU.
While this writer could not find any subsequent or "follow-up" news coverage of this talk in a recent Google news search, nonetheless, he found Prof. Dennis Ross' follow-up Facebook news feed, where Ross writes: "So very honored to have my friend, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, Chairwoman of
the House Committee on Education and Workforce, address the students and faculty at SEU as part of the American Center for Political Leadership Speakers
Series. One of her comments that “ You are either at the table or on the menu” was a strong message to this next generation of leaders to be engaged and
involved in the political process," an enlightening comment that this writer remembers Foxx making: Foxx asked listeners that if they remembered
nothing else to remember that, and to become involved in the political process to better our community.
Grothman concludes his press release by saying that "“Out-of-control student loan costs and wasteful spending, coupled with high tuition prices, must
come to an end for the sake of our students. If this [student loan bankruptcy] bill becomes law, it will force all federal student lenders, including the
federal government, to become more responsible.”," which is key to avoiding a crash of the dollar: Student Debt, at over $2 Trillion, is almost ten
(10%) percent of total U.S. Debt, a point this writer attempted to convey to Foxx, in his attempt to seek her support for the various bipartisan student
loan bankruptcy bills that have expired in previous sessions of Congress.
While no further "mainstream" news coverage (other than this paper, The Register) could be found, nonetheless, famous "Student Loan Justice" student debt expert, Alan Collinge, author of the "million signature petition" on CHANGE.org, seeking restoration of Constitutional student loan BK rights, did news coverage on the
undersigned writer: LINK. A brief review of the thread
reveals that Foxx is very unpopular among both liberals and conservatives in Collinge's large Facebook group. Collinge is occasionally featured in
Register news/commentary, such as this guest column he wrote, and granted permission to republish. Although
Collinge's petition also seeks cancellation of student debt (besides BK restoration),
The Register takes no position on this matter, as it is not a long-term solution, and more fully-explained here: LINK ; Mirror-1 ; Mirror-2 ; Archive-1 ; Archive-2
A video of the entire talk, including Q/A after-wards, can be downloaded in streaming and MP4 formats: Facebook ; YouTube ; Local archive-1 ; Local
archive-2 ; Local archive-3 ; Wayback Archive-1 ; Wayback Archive-2 ; Wayback Archive-3 Grassley, Cornyn, Hawley, Reps. John Katko, Glenn Grothman, Virginia Foxx, and other open-minded GOP lawmakers, as
well as reasonable Democrats, such as Jerry Nadler, Danny Davis, Steve Cohen, Sen. Dick Durbin, and others too numerous to name, offer hope, and we hope
they can work together to pass meaningful legislation to protect both students and taxpayers.
As stated earlier, we are not optimistic for meaningful student loan bankruptcy or "pork" spending cuts being done by the "split Congress," due to gridlock
prospects: if either party could not get their "signature" legislation done when they had "full control" (student loan bankruptcy legislation for DEMS and
pork spending cuts to student loan originations for the GOP), what hope is there now with shared control of Congress (GOP in House and DEMS in Senate &
Oval Office)? We, therefore, ask readers to contact lawmakers to stop infighting and return bankruptcy rights
(LINK ; Mirror-1 ; Mirror-2 ; Archive Today ; Wayback) to student loans to avert economic disaster: Otherwise, there will be no sufficient Conservative Free Market check on
irresponsible lending by Dept of Ed, to the tune of trillions = equals the needle the breaks the camel's back, collapses the U.S. economy, & crashes the
dollar. PERMA-LINK: #Gridlock
**** BREAKING --TRIPLE HEADER: I. Pres. Biden issues unprecedented ninth (9TH) "pause" on student loan repayment, interest,
collections ; II. "Red state Georgia" did not experience "Red Wave" in recent senate runoff. Georgia's unique "student debt" crisis suspected as key
factor; Congress has one week to pass key student loan bankruptcy legislation to "tamp down" excess DOE student loan originations or else face certain
crash of the dollar ; III. Costs of colleges causing dangerous shortages of doctors/nurses, caused by unaffordable medical education ; BONUS: “LOAN WOLVES”
(MSNBC Documentary, Dir. Blake Zeff), below, addresses this (Wed.07 Dec. 2022 ; UPDATED: Fri.30 Dec. 2022)
I. RECORD NINTH (9TH) PAUSE ON STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS
As previously reported, Pres. Biden issued an unprecedented ninth (9th) "pause" on student loan repayment, interest, and collections for
all federally-held student debt. As the $2 trillion student debt is nearly ten (10%) percent of total U.S. debt, this threatens to crash
the dollar if lawmakers continue to "kick the can down the road" and not address root causes.
With the U.S. Senate set to go on holiday break and a "TARGET ADJOURNMENT—
DECEMBER 21, 2022" (LINKS: -1- *
-2- *
-3- *
PDF format: -4- *
-5- *
-6- * -7-) and the
U.S. HOUSE set to have "Last Votes" at 3:00 P.M. EST, this Thursday, Dec. 15,
2022(LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- *
-4- * -5- * PDF format: -6- * -7- * -8- * -9-), if these student loan bankruptcy bills don't pass in a "Democrat-controlled" Congress by Dec.15, they will likely never get
passed once Republicans take control of the House next year: The GOP has, historically, been much less amenable to legislation to restore student loan
bankruptcy, and other critical standard consumer protections, which serve as a Conservative "Free Market" check on profligate lending by the U.S.
Department of Education -- which, if student borrowers could assert BK defense, would be more reluctant to lend trillions of our tax dollars in an
irresponsible manner. Many experts are saying that a crash of the dollar of the dollar, in our already-weak economy, is certain if
this legislation isn't passed by the 15th when Democrats lose control of Congress.
II. "Red state Georgia" did not experience "Red Wave" in recent senate runoff. Georgia's unique "student debt" crisis
suspected as key factor
As previously reported by CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM), nineteen
U.S. states hold more federal student loan debt than their entire annual state budget. (Original Source: “19 states have higher student-loan debt than annual budgets, report,” by Ayelet Sheffey, BUSINESS INSIDER, April 5, 2021, 8:55 PM:
LINKS: -1- * -2- *
-3- * -4- See also:
-5- * -6- * -7-)
Georgia ranks highest among all 50 U.S. states, with a state budget slightly over $48 billion, but Georgians’ total federal student debt is about $82
billion. Many speculate this to be why there was no “red wave” in “Red State” Georgia’s last two senatorial elections: Although Georgia has, historically,
been a reliable "Republican" stronghold, nonetheless, as reported by other news outlets, Democratic senatorial candidate, Raphael Warnock, the incumbent
senator, beat football legend, Herschel Walker, the GOP candidate, by almost three (3%) percentage points: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- * and as verified by the official
GA election results from Georgia's Elections Division
of the Secretary of State’s Office With over 45 Million Americans with student debt and another 40-50 Million who are cosigners, family/friends, etc.,
about 100M Americans, total, this is no small matter, and arguably the largest untethered voting block, with millions of "republican" and "democrat"
victims in this pricing scam, in which today's students don’t have affordable college like their parents/grandparents did.
Moreover, Black Americans have twice as much student debt as the national average and three times the default rate, compounding an already bad economic
forecast for America. (Original sources: -1- * -2- * -3- *
-4- *
-5- * -6- * -7- * -8- * -9-)
Some advocates and fellow-Americans are critical of President Biden's recent Executive Order(LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-). However, as we document in prior research, students have actually repaid taxpayers $1.22 for EVERY $1.00 that taxpayers have
lent them -- when looking just at how gov't recovers $1.22 from every $1.00 of defaulted student loans -- probably more when you consider that
loans in good standing have no repayment problems, as documented by FORBES and REUTERS, with the WSJ reporting very similar figures.
LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- *
Primary sources -- -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- * -6- * -7- * -8- * -9-. Indeed, USA Today recently reported that “Government projects to make $50B in student loan profit”: -1- * -2- * -3-. Thus, taxpayers actually owe students a small amount, and rich, surfeit colleges owe both students and taxpayers a pretty sum.
Normally, students should not complain for paying more than borrowed (via interest on top of principal), but when many laws are egregiously broken,
including illegal changes to existing loan contract without consent of both parties (when bankruptcy laws altered the terms of existing contract),
price-gouging, and removal of bankruptcy uniformity (which is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution's BANKRUPTCY UNIFORMITY CLAUSE, Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4) --
all quite illegal -- then this magnifies and adds to what banks, colleges, and taxpayers owe the students who are victims of many financial fraud crimes.
PROOF: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- Many experts
and advocates are suggesting that this egregious abuse, left unchecked by Republican lawmakers, is a key factor in why there was no
"Red Wave," this election cycle --even in "Republican stronghold," Georgia. Similarly, Democrats (narrowly) lost the House, and it
is believed that Democrat lawmakers' refusal to address this when they held House, Senate, and Oval Office, was a chief cause of there being no "Blue Wave"
this election cycle either, leading some commentators to opine that "Democrats never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity" regarding the crushing student debt crisis. (LINKS:
-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-)
* In related news, we have learned that The USPTO has registered CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART
II®(TM). This is a registered trademark of Gordon W. Watts, Register Editor-in-Chief. In an email dated January 10, 2023, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office wrote Watts: "Your mark [CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II] has
registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Your United States trademark registration number is 6950909." Watts' project,
“CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II”®(TM) [Int'l. Cl.: 042 ; SER. NO. 90-607,682, FILED 03-27-2021 ;
FIRST USE 5-3-1998; IN COMMERCE 4-11-2022 ; US Serial No. 90607682], is dedicated to creating an online presence and social media community for American voters for the purpose of seeking legislation to fix present,
obvious, and egregious problems we face today. Their secondary goals are to educate the public, and seek redress in the other parallel venues (seeking
representation in the Executive Branch, calling on The President, and other State, Federal, and local leaders -- and the news media -- and
fellow-citizens). They are not affiliated with the original "CONTRACT WITH AMERICA," whose expired USPTO Trademark application serial number is 74578820, by applicant, Republican National Committee, and, may, incidentally,
agree on some issues, and disagree on their handling of other issues -- which is why Watts created this "PART II" project: To finished the unfinished
business of the original project.
III. Costs of colleges causing dangerous shortages of doctors/nurses, caused by unaffordable medical
education
* In related news, the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) reports that "The U.S. is projected to experience a shortage of Registered Nurses (RNs) that is expected to intensify as Baby Boomers
age and the need for health care grows." (LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-) Reasons cited include "[n]ursing school
enrollment is not growing fast enough," a "shortage of nursing school faculty," and demographics: a "significant segment of the nursing workforce is
nearing retirement age," as well as the pandemic. But, we ask, what causes shortfalls in enrollment and faculty employment? Academia Labs reports that colleges are now offering free tuition and student loan forgiveness as well as other scholarships to address
nursing shortages, (LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-) strongly
implying that "costs of college" are a huge obstacle to America producing nurses & doctors. This suspicion is confirmed by Med School Insiders, which lists five (5) chief reasons for the current doctor shortage crisis:
1.) Length of Training ;
2.) Cost of Training ;
3.) Limited Number of Residency Spots ;
4.) Limitations of Importing Physicians (where they state that "The issue is that there is a lot of red tape that foreign-trained physicians must
navigate to practice medicine in the United States") ; and:
In 2006, the NIH (National Institutes of Health) published a study by the International Journal of Health Services: Strikes by physicians: a historical perspective toward an ethical evaluation. (LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-) More recently, NBC reported that Kaiser Permanente, an "integrated managed care consortium," was considering a strike of about 32,000 Kaiser
Permanente nurses & other health care workers. (LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-) And Healthcare
Dive(LINKS: -1- * -2- *
-3- * -4- * -5-) provided an extensive and lengthy list of 2022 healthcare worker strikes, as did Wikipedia(LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-), listing many prior years as
well. Therefore, the situation is very unstable and dangerous for the American economy and healthcare foundations. A common theme among
all the contemporary research is the "costs of college" are not affordable, as they were in the times of our parents and grandparents. Is this true, we
ask? Our own research clearly documents that college was once free in America in
many places (Research: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- * Many leaders
from both sides of the political isle and additional research: -6- * -7- * -8- * -9- * -10-)
Editor's Note: The C*SPAN links, below, were self-contradictory as to the Closed Captioning speech-to-text comments
about the Pro Forma sessions scheduled: A closer look at the
C*SPAN page on the House shows the following image, which has no mention of closed captioning text:
CLICK TO ENLARGE
(opens in new window)
However, clicking their link, and listening to the audio finds the following audio: Speaker Designee, Rep. Kwasi Mfume (D-MD-07): "House resolution 1230:
The House stands adjourned until 9:00 A.M. on Friday, December 30th, 2022." (Gavel sound) (Brief pause) C*SPAN Narrator: "The U.S. House has finised
business for the year, but will meet every three (3) days, for Pro Forma Sessions. Now, back to today's Washington Journal,
already in progress." This implies that the HOUSE and SENATE will meet on Fri. 30 Dec. 2022 and again on Mon. 02 Jan. 2023, but only the HOUSE was
explicitly referenced, and even this claim has not been verified by the undersigned writer on the House website, even after thorough inquiry and review, so
the matter is still in flux: Audio (*.mp3) LINK * Local archive * Wayback archive * C*SPAN screenshot LINK * Local archive * Archive Today * Wayback Machine
Nonetheless, many sources document that students have more-than fully repaid
taxpayers what was borrowed (and this even at illegally-inflated price-gouging levels; editor's note: price-gouging is still quite illegal).
LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-
Therefore, it is clear: if all student debt was canceled, taxpayers would not pay anything, since, as documented above, students have more-than fully
"repaid in full" their debt. Already American Higher Ed has proven to be an "epic fail," a weight on all segments of the economy, students, taxpayers, and
now prospective patients whose lives are in jeopardy due to a self-induced shortage of doctors, nurses, & other medical care providers. But with the
"pause" heading into its 3RD year, if the Ponzi scam/scheme, known as American Higher Ed lending, isn't halted, there will be a crash of
the dollar. Therefore, Congress must pass student loan bankruptcy legislation during what many believe will be the last session day of the 117TH
Congress, namely today, Tuesday, 27 December 2022, at which time House is scheduled to meet at 12 noon(LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3-) and Senate at 5:30 p.m.(LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3-) in order to avert economic and healthcare disaster, as discussed herein. Therefore, we will crash the
dollar if this is not addressed by legislation such as by the bankruptcy uniformity legislation in question. (LINKS: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-) This results from the hemorrhaging bleeding of taxpayers to greedy colleges, banks, loan servicers, lobbyists, and
lawmakers. Bankruptcy uniformity isn't a free handout, but rather required by the Constitution's BANKRUPTCY UNIFORMITY clause; not an amendment,
rather the Constitution, Art.I Sec.8, cl.4. Besides the need to "tamp down" excessive Dept of Education lending (and prevent a crash of the dollar),
availability of bankruptcy would also force colleges to lower tuition to affordable levels (like our parent/grandparents had), as colleges realise and
understand students no longer have "deep pockets" loans. If college is no longer affordable to 99.9% of Americans (current situation), then who will treat
you if you have heart attack, cancer, stroke, or a nasty accident? Not everybody needs a college education -- but some do. (Think on that long
and hard.) ** We, therefore, ask readers to contact lawmakers before the HOUSE and SENATE go on holiday break, to return
bankruptcy rights to student loans to avert economic disaster.
**** Election 2022We're
keeping the grid news, below, pinned to the top, as it is of critical importance, but below, we present a
helpful Election 2022 guide. (Thr.27 Oct. 2022)
**** BREAKING --DOUBLE HEADER: I. Unexpected increase in solar cycle threatens satellites, GPS, and fragile power / telecommunications
grid worldwide ; II. Lost "GRID" episode from Night Dreams Talk Radio (Host: Gary Anderson) was recovered (Mon.04 July 2022 ; UPDATED: Mon.01 Aug.
2022)(Recent news: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 -
5 -
6 -
7)I. NEW SOLAR FLARE THREATS
LOOM: Scientists are calling on lawmakers to "harden the grid" from these threats, as documented in CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM)(Cross-posted to 5 mirrors in case the GRID goes down: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5). Included on this research page are articles from Dr. Peter Pry, Executive Director of the
nonpartisan EMP TASKFORCE. Dr. Pry, a frequent guest on Coast to Coast: AM, is well-respected for being unbiased
and nonpartisan, as shown by a sampling of his recent articles: "Left" leaning "Nuclear War Can Be
Won—And Lost" which suggests peace: "stoking war in Ukraine is not a good idea" ; "Right" leaning "SLCM-N: Needed for Deterrence, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control" article which suggests the "U.S. should deploy at least 2,000
SLCM-Ns, to match the lowest estimated number of tactical nuclear weapons in Russia" ; and his "scientific" assessment, titled
"IRAN: EMP THREAT." (See more articles here.) As earth's earth's protective
magnetic field is slowly collapsing as documented in this paper(other download mirrors: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - PDF format: 6 - 7 - 8 - 9), the
increased solar cycle's threat is heightened. Therefore, lawmakers should stop the wasteful spending documented below, in
order to fund the modest, but necessary, upgrades to protect, harden, and secure our grid. Readers are encouraged to call
your Member of Congress
and U.S. Senators and demand
they protect our grid. If, for any reason, the Whitehouse/Congress website is down, here is a
current list of phone numbers and email addresses for lawmakers. (Mirror downloads: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5)Register editor, Gordon Wayne Watts, was featured on Coast to Coast: AM's episode description for his call in to the show about "Contract with America Part 2," his trademark project to
sound the alarm about grid threats: *1* - *2* - *3* - *4* Readers are encouraged to politely, but firmly,
demand lawmakers act on the grid; those who can't call are encouraged to donate, to keep this "web-ring"
afloat long enough for others to read it and contact lawmakers: Internet hosting bills and time-off from "paying" work to maintain/update this web-ring are
piling up, a non-paying volunteer job.
II. Lost "GRID" episode from Night Dreams Talk Radio (Host: Gary Anderson) was recovered
In perhaps one of the best interviews ever done on this important subject, Gary Anderson interviewed
EMP Taskforce National Director,
Glenn Rhoades, for over an hour and a half on his show,
Night Dreams Talk Radio, an overnight "paranormal" talk show, often compared to the
epic Coast to Coast: AM overnight call-in show. The show, which aired on 7-21-2022, drawing rave
reviews from the EMP community on Facebook and
Twitter(archives: -1- ** -2- ** -3-), was unexpectedly deleted from all known platforms for what is believed to be a combination of operator error and internal
archival "grid" failure (an apt and ironic metaphor as this was the subject of the interview). When The Register learned of this, we immediately
drew upon our deep bench of tech experts and found one remaining stream, which had to be pieced together "old school" style by streaming raw audio into
recording apps, an arduous and slow process. When we contacted Mr. Anderson, he was kind enough to honour our request and grant
limited permissions to use their copyrighted material
on our website only, and only for this one episode. After several failed attempts, and battling our own
internet "grid" problems (just barely dial-up speed shown in screenshot), we were finally
able to restore the episode in "studio quality" and in stereo, and we hope that Mr. Anderson will download a copy and put it back up on his platforms, for
his much-wider audience, once his team has verified the quality of the episode is acceptable. Without further ado, we post, below, pursuant to our limited
permissions, a copy of this show, and we urge all our readers to patronise and support host, Gary Anderson and his talented producer,
James Creachbaum, Jr., on all of their platforms: NightDreamsTalkRadio.com ** Facebook **
YouTube **
TikTok **
Twitter **
You may also donate if you can't do anything else; that is critical since we are taking time off from "paying" jobs to do this
much-needed volunteer work. Nonetheless, it is even more important to politely, but firmly (and consistently) demand our over-paid, under-performing
lawmakers (who make around $200 GRAND per year -- much more than our staff) to do their job: FILE THE BILLS ALREADY, and stop merely sucking down our
taxpayer dollars. ACTION ITEMS: Contact your (your Congressman/Congresswoman) & your
U.S. Senator, and demand they act. Here, we provide key bill numbers, which will help their staffers understand your request. But you can speak in plain English too --
asking them to "harden" and "protect" and "upgrade" our fragile Power, Cell Phone, Computer, & Internet GRID. You can call them, and contact them through
their Congressional and Senatorial webpages (look for contact links), as well as their social media. A personal visit would not hurt either, but be polite
and well-prepared. And persistent. THEN, PLEASE CONTACT LAWMAKERS AND OTHER POLITICIANS to avert disaster.
PERMA-LINK: #grid
**** ELECTION 2022(Thr.27 Oct. 2022) Without further ado, here is a guide to candidates and issues for the mid-term
2022 general election: Our press inquiry to candidates, found in
this file folder, asked selected candidates questions in the following categories: I. LAW AND ORDER (cashless
bail, border, defunding police), II. DRUG USE (medical marijuana), III. Protecting the GRID, IV. Cutting Pork spending, V. CONSTITUTIONAL BANKRUPTCY
UNIFORMITY, VI. AMERICAN ENERGY INDEPENDENCE.
** GOVERNOR: Ron DeSantis stumbles on key points, shines on one: As of press time,
neither the DeSantis nor Crist campaigns have responded, and thus both deserve a gig. Nonetheless, we will attempt to rate them fairly. Our political
analysts think DeSantis is more in line with traditional conservative values on law & order than Crist, but Crist, a former Republican, doesn't have the
nickname "Chain-gang Charlie Crist" for nothing, and we rate this a statistical tie. Moreover, while DeSantis' actions shipping illegal aliens is
technically illegal aid/abet of illegal alien transfer, a legal analysis of the common law "self-defense" doctrine reveals that striking one in the face is
also illegal, but not if in self-defense, and note that the Biden administration's record illegal border crossings justifies DeSantis' otherwise bizarre
behaviour, and give DeSantis a slight edge here. Regarding medical marijuana or protecting the power grid, we are aware of no legislation supported by
either candidate while in office and rate this a nullity/tie. In the area of cutting pork
spending, we note that both candidates' voting records, while in Congress, have failed to address this, in spite of how
our open investigation found that the GOP Platform prohibits our federal tax dollars being used to originate (make)
student loans, and gig both candidates, especially DeSantis, who claims to be a Republican.
Regarding constitutional bankruptcy uniformity, we note that both candidates'
voting records, while in Congress, have failed to address this, in spite of how our open investigation found that the
Democrat platform requires this action, and gig both candidates, especially Crist, who now claims to be a Democrat. On energy independence, we are not
aware of anything noteworthy in either candidate, thus our initial evaluation as a "Conservative" online news and commentary source, finds a statistical
dead heat, here. However, DeSantis makes key mistakes in other areas of note when declined to call out and hold accountable his surgeon general when the
latter insisted on invading the personal space of a Florida state senator who had cancer and asked him to wear a face mask in her presence. This moral
failure, here, violates Conservative moral "rights & wrongs," and is a gig. Moreover, since he has had ample opportunities to obey the GOP platform
regarding its prohibition on taxpayer funding for student loan origination, as well as constitutional bankruptcy uniformity, both when he was a Member of
Congress, and later, from the bully pulpit as governor, he deserves an extra gig, reflective of his added opportunities. (Crist had similar opportunities,
but his tenure as governor was long ago before the student debt crisis was where it is now, and he deserve some, but not a lot, of leeway here.) We rare
this a statistical tie if evaluating on merit alone.
** SENATE: Marco Rubio stumbles on key points, shines on one: As of press time, neither the Rubio nor Demings campaigns have responded,
and thus both deserve a gig. However, this reporter was able to find and call the Demings campaign, thus giving her an early edge. Our political analysts
think Marco Rubio's stances are more in line with traditional conservative values on law & order than those of Val Demings, but Demings, a former police
officer (and police chief) is very conservative here, and this pulls her even thus far. However, key errors by Rubio would appear to doom his campaign on a
merit analysis (whether or not the polling data mirrors this). To begin with, Rubio knowingly lied about Demings when he claimed that she favoured
defunding the police. This would be hilarious if it were not a serious issue: She is a former police chief, and there is no record of her having taken this
stance. Rubio also knowingly lied when he claimed Demings had not authored any bill in Congress: while the bill she authored was a minor one (renaming a
post office), this lack of integrity calls into question Rubio's political views as to trustworthiness. Lastly, Demings, while on the House Judiciary
Committee, last session (116th Congress) voted in committee in favour of H.R.2648, a bill that would have attempted to
repair a constitutional flaw in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. Rubio, by contrast,
has held a "bankruptcy self-defense for me, but not for thee" stance when failing to represent constituents who have college debt: Bankruptcy Uniformity is
not a "Liberal" Free Handout, but rather required by the U.S. Constitution's Uniformity clause, Art.I, Sec.8, cl.4., and also a necessary Conservative Free
Market check on excessive Liberal student loan originations by the profligate U.S. Dept of Ed, which will crash the dollar if the
various student loan bankruptcy bill (S.2598, H.R.9110, H.R.4907, etc.) fail to pass this session. Moreover, Democrats (who hold House, Senate, & Oval
Office) will face a beatdown in the midterms of they are not responsive to this crisis, which harms taxpayers (who originate said loans) and students
(whose tuition is price-gouged when colleges see student borrowers have deep pockets loans available on our taxpayer dollar). Regarding the grid, medical
marijuana, cutting excessive pork spending, and energy independence, we have limited data. Regarding "red flag" laws, this writer vividly recalls Rubio
stating he's for reasonable red flag laws, to flag mentally ill, but not extreme measures that would allow a disgruntled coworker to get you investigated.
We feel Demings, a former police chief, has similar views, and would rate this a tie, but for the several documented lies by Rubio that call into question
his integrity. Regarding abortion, Rubio is more "pro-life," but Demings does not support abortion up until the 9th month, and is similar insofar as both
support exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother. Both candidates have been lackluster in actually getting things done, but Demings edges out
Rubio on two key "Conservative" metrics: Conservative morals (integrity) and Conservative adherence to the U.S. Constitution. Due to the "right-leaning"
polling data available, we rate this a tossup, but give Demings the edge on evaluation of selected metrics. In particular, even if Rubio is more
"Conservative" on paper, can we really trust him with a record of telling lies and failing to get things accomplished during his twelve (12) years in
Senate and decades elsewhere? CONGRESS: We sent our press inquiries to candidates in 2 local races, Dist.15, featuring former TV
Investigative Reporter, Alan Cohn (Democrat) and Laurel Lee (Republican), and the newly-created Dist.18, featuring Keith Hayden (Independant) and incumbent
Congressman, Scott Franklin (Republican). As of press time, neither congressional candidate in Dist.15 has responded, and based on limited data (neither
candidate has been in elected office of this type, if at all, nor are their campaign websites particularly revealing), we withhold an endorsement here.
Neither has Dist.18 candidate, Scott Franklin, responded as of press time.
However, Independant candidate, Keith Hayden, responded to
our press inquiry (found in this file
folder), and other than one "wrong" answer, scored perfectly. Regarding the one "wrong"
answer, Hayden clarified why he failed to support H.R.9110: The text
had not been published at that time. Moreover, after we notified the D.C. offices of lawmakers in question and still received no response to our press inquiry, the other five (5) candidates are without
excuse for not promptly responding (or addressing this on their campaign websites, or, as appropriate, filing legislation).
In private communication with Hayden, this reporter represents that he expressed concern that many candidate guides were listing him incorrectly (not
at all or as "Democrat"), and this reporter investigated. Previously, we contacted BLEXIT about
a candidate guide they were kind enough to make for voters, and informed them that their
listing of a candidate as "Conservative" in some instances was incorrect. Their prompt
response justified this listing by claiming the candidate in question voted "with" Republicans, and thus was considered "Conservative," this even in
spite of the well-documented fact that our own Open Investigation discovered that more than ninety (90%) percent of all
GOP lawmakers refuse to even make an attempt to follow key Republican Party official platform planks. Upon further investigation,
Keith Hayden, the independent Dist.18 candidate (links:
LINK ;
Archive Today ;
Wayback), is
listed as Democrat, in spite of the fact the the Fla Dept of State, Div of Elections clearly lists his as no party affiliation:
LINK ;
Archive Today ;
Wayback.
We hope to alert them to both errors, both their incorrect definition of "Conservative" and their incorrect listing of Mr. Hayden. Before we become too
critical, we should note that Candidate Guide is much larger than ours, and due
to human limitations, it is not unreasonable to fathom human errors of this type. Therefore, we ask all readers to remember to pray for both the candidate
in both/all parties, our politicians/leaders, as well as independent organisations, like BLEXIT, who work hard to show honour to readers, even if mistakes
occur.
**** BREAKING --Lawmakers in both political parties who don't follow their own party platforms on higher ed lending/funding threaten to crash the
dollar (Pub. Wed.08 June 2022 ; UPDATED: Fri.10 June 2022) After initial press inquiry to
lawmakers asking where they stand re proposed solutions to the dangerous higher ed bubble, a disturbing new phenomenon was discovered: we've
opened active investigation into why almost all lawmakers in both parties refuse to obey
planks in their party platforms on higher ed funding: Most Democrats (about 81.9%) refuse to obey the bankruptcy clause in the Democrat Party platform;
almost all (at least 91.86%, or perhaps 100% using literal definitions) GOP lawmakers refuse to obey a Republican Party Platform prohibition against
Federal tax-dollar use to originate (make) student loans; both actions threatens to crash the dollar in an already weak economy: only
8.14% of all GOP lawmakers comply with their party platform on student loan originations; only 18.1% of all Democrats attempt to obey their party platform
calling for restoration of student loan bankruptcy. This includes past GOP lawmakers: Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, when he was in congress, refused
to file legislation to obey the party platform on student loan originations. Ongoing news coverage download mirrors: local cache *
-1- * -2- * -3- * Archive Today * Wayback Machine * PDF format: local cache * CWA2 official * Wayback Machine We believe that only the Free Market forces of a threat of bankruptcy by student borrowers will be sufficient to
force the Dept of Ed to stop irresponsible lending, and back of lobbyists sufficient to allow lawmakers (particularly GOP, who claims to support this) to pass legislation to cut these toxic subsidies,
thus we call on all lawmakers to support S.2598 and H.R.4907, the student loan bankruptcy bills in session. UPDATE: As such,
we've sent all lawmakers (435 Members of Congress & 100 U.S. Senators) an official press inquiry seeking lawmakers' views: Once on 4/16/2022 to 4/20/2022(mirrors - PDF: Local Cache *
-1- * -2- * -3- * Wayback Machine * WebPage: Local Cache * -1- * -2- * -3- * Archive Today * Wayback Machine) with a resend on
5/4/2022, due to glitches in our initial attempts. After we noticed the disturbing trend, above, we sent lawmakers a second press inquiry on 6/8/2022, asking them to explain why almost 100% of all lawmakers of both parties refuse to comply with their own party platforms on
higher ed lending/funding, using this email list, which was derived from lawmakers' public email addresses. To be complete in Higher Ed investigative reporting, we notified fellow-journalists in
print/broadcast media in an official press release, both on 4/24/2022 and,
again on 6/9/2022, using a "master list" of media contacts provided to us by our research department. The key June 8 followup inquiry of lawmakers is available at
these download mirrors: local cache * -1- * -2- * -3- * Wayback archive See also this folder for more documents: local cache * -1- * -2- * -3- * Archive Today * Wayback Machine-A * Wayback Machine-B * Therefore, if lawmakers, of both parties, refuse to even obey their own stated party platforms on higher ed
funding/lending (much less the opposing party), when both platforms have much-needed legislation, and these harmful excesses crash the
dollar, as many experts predict, we can not be held to blame for the eventual collapse of the economy, as other nations have recently encountered.
PERMA-LINK: #OpenInvestigation
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
* FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE --CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM) opens national and local Facebook groups (Mon.11 Apr. 2022 ; UPDATED:
Fri.13 May 2022)Register Editor, Gordon Watts' trademark project, CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART
II(TM), now has Facebook groups open for business: Lawmakers made promises in 1994, but what have we to show for it? Americans of all political
stripes demand change—time to revive from the ashes like the legendary Phoenix:
LINKS:ContractWithAmerica2, National (group) AND: TownhallCongressFL15, Central Fla. (group) -- This Facebook group isn't an official page of any member of U.S. Congress, etc.;
rather, it's a page dedicated to constituents of FLORIDA'S 15th U.S. Congressional District, created by a constituent of same because the current resident
of this office (U.S. Representative, Congressman C. Scott Franklin, R-FL-15) hasn't -- for whatever reason -- been responsive to constituents, both in
failure to provide sufficient in-person or "telephone" town hall meetings, as well as file and cosponsor legislation supported by the majority of his
constituents, as documented in polls:
FLAGSHIP MIRROR: https://ContractWithAmerica2.com
Mirror-1: https://GordonWatts.com/n.index.html *
Mirror-2: https://GordonWayneWatts.com/n.index.html
Archive-1 (Library): https://Archive.vn/contractwithamerica2.com *
Archive-2 (Library): Internet Archive * UPDATE:The Register and CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART
II(TM) have now contacted all 435 Members of Congress and 100 U.S. Senators via our press
inquiry which, due to email tech issues, had to be sent out in six (6) batches, here, including, of
course, one to our Florida lawmakers. That press inquiry was polite and
professional, in our higher ed news reporting, and focuses on Student Loan Bankruptcy bills S.2598 (117th) and H.R.4907
(117th) as a middle-ground compromise that is more politically viable than either the "forgiveness" or "status quo" measures on either extreme of the
political spectrum. By contrast, our new editorial, titled "Fake
Conservatives in the GOP and Fake Liberals in the Democrat Party: What about lawmakers who don't follow their own party platforms? A closer look at
“Higher Education”" (PDF format) focuses on GOP failures to cut
pork spending and Democrat failures to adhere to party promises on bankruptcy equality -- both in Higher Ed -- and with a more "editorial" than "news" feel
to the reporting. UPDATE:The Register and CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART
II(TM) have now provided a "Courage Scorecard," for all 435 Members of
Congress and 100 U.S. Senators, which reflects both replies to our press inquiry, as well as lawmakers' stance on the issues (even if no
response is received), provided we know from the public record where they stand (based on sponsorship, voting record, public statements, etc.), in which
we will "auto-populate" a response. UPDATE: CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM) Natl Dir, Gordon
Wayne Watts, has issued a press release to fellow journalists regarding
our recent press inquiry of Federal lawmakers. Related docs can be found in this folder. (Wed. 04 May 2022 // A.M.) UPDATE: This morning we learned that the
U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has docketed our
Statement of
Use affidavit for CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM), application
number 90607682, via the Trademark Status & Document Retrieval (TSDR) and fully expect our application for copyright to be granted on our trademark advocacy
project, an online presence to address egregious Federal Government problems. (Wed. 18 May 2022 // P.M.) UPDATE: My editor has directed us to
inquire about the key role played by Florida Senators Rubio and Scott and Representatives Scott Franklin (R-FL-15)
and Byron Donalds (R-FL-19) of Florida and Virginia Foxx (R-NC-05) of North Carolina about federal govt role in student loan originations, and whether GOP
lawmakers will -- or will not -- obey the Republican Party's platform on this issue necessary to avert a crash of the
dollar. Ongoing news coverage here. UPDATE (Wed.6-8-22) We have now expanded our investigative reporting: our editor
has directed us to open an active investigation into why almost all lawmakers in both major political parties are refusing
to obey key planks in their party's platforms on higher ed funding: Most Democrat lawmakers refuse to obey the bankruptcy clause the Democrat Party's
official platform, and all (or almost all) GOP lawmakers refuse to obey Republican Party Platform's prohibition against Federal tax-dollar use to originate
(make) student loans, both actions being something that threatens to crash the dollar in an already weak economy. Ongoing new coverage
linked here. ~~Higher Ed reporter, Gordon W. Watts, for The Register
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
* BREAKING: Pres. Biden extends student loan "pause" --Related news --The Register gets interesting report from readers regarding Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA), does
follow-up press inquiry to investigate (Wed.22 Dec. 2021 ; UPDATED: Sun.27 Nov. 2022) President Biden, according to an
11/22/2022 press release, and using Executive Order authority, has just directed the Department of Education to "pause" Federal Student
Loan payments, just weeks before prior moratorium was set to expire, at year's end, on December 31, 2022. The Department of
Education clarified that Biden's extension will include a "pause on student loan repayment, interest, and collection," as with prior pauses.
However, this pause is done in order to "alleviate uncertainty for borrowers as the Biden-Harris Administration asks the Supreme Court to
review the lower-court orders that are preventing the Department from providing debt relief for tens of millions of Americans," via the recent Executive
Order.(Dept. of Ed: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- Whitehouse:
-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- StudentAid.gov: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-)
This marks the ninth (9th) time payments were paused. Here's a complete list of all nine (9) "pauses":
(1) * CONGRESS: On March 27, 2020, Congress passed the Cares Act, temporarily suspending payments & waiving interest on federal student loans through
September 30, 2020.(-1- *
-2- *
-3- * -4- * -5- * -6- * -7-)
(2) * TRUMP: President Trump, on August 8, 2020, paused federal student loan payments, interest, & debt collection on federal student loan payments
through December 31, 2020.(Whitehouse: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- BankRate: -1- * -2- *
-3- * -4-)
(3) * TRUMP: In an unexpected move, Trump, on December 4, 2020, acting through U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, extends the moratorium one more
time, an additional month, until January 31, 2021.(Dept. of Ed: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- Forbes: -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-)
(4) * BIDEN: President Biden, on his first day in office (January 20, 2021), directed the Acting Secretary of Education to extend the pause on Federal
Student Loan Payments until at least September 30, 2021, as reflected in the DOE memo, dated January 21, 2021, the following day.(-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5- * -6- * -7- * -8- * -9- * -10-)
(5) * BIDEN: On August 6, 2021, the Biden administration extended the moratorium through, through January 31, 2022.(-1- * -2- * -3- * -4-)
(6) * BIDEN: President Biden, on December 22, 2021 and in an unexpected reversal, issued a statement, dated 12-22-2021, that his "Administration is
extending the pause on federal student loan repayments for an additional 90 days — through May 1, 2022."(-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-)
(7) * BIDEN: President Biden, on April 6, 2022 and in an unexpected move, issued an official "Statement by President Biden Extending the Pause on
Student Loan Repayment Through August 31st, 2022": (-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- * -5-)
(8) * BIDEN: On August 24, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration announced a (so-called) "final extension of the pause on student loan repayment,
interest, and collections through December 31, 2022," warning that "[b]orrowers should plan to resume payments in January 2023." The administration also
announced it will direct the Department of Education to "provide targeted student debt cancellation to borrowers with loans held by the Department of
Education...for up to $20,000 in debt cancellation," for those meeting certain income and Pell Grant receipt requirements: (-1- * -2- * -3- * -4-, Citing this legal(*) memo:
-1-
* -2-
* -3- * -4-)
(9) * BIDEN: On November 22, 2022, the Biden-Harris Administration "announced an extension of the pause on student loan repayment, interest, and
collections" in order to "alleviate uncertainty for borrowers as the Biden-Harris Administration asks the Supreme Court to review the lower-court orders
that are preventing the Department from providing debt relief for tens of millions of Americans," via the recent Executive Order. The timing on this pause,
however, is variable and conditional, as outlined in this direct quote:
"Payments will resume 60 days after the Department is permitted to
implement the program or the litigation is resolved, which will give the Supreme Court an opportunity to resolve the case during its current Term. If the
program has not been implemented and the litigation has not been resolved by June 30, 2023 – payments will resume 60 days after that." SOURCE:
"Biden-Harris Administration Continues Fight for Student Debt Relief for Millions of Borrowers, Extends Student Loan Repayment Pause," U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
EDUCATION, Press Release, November 22, 2022, LINKS: (-1- * -2- * -3- * -4-)
(*) LEGAL -- Various legal memos of note: Dept. of Ed -1- * -2- * -3- * -4-
DOJ, Slip Opinion -1-
* -2-
* -3-
Congressional Research Service -1-
* -2-
* -3-
WATTS (responding to KANTROWITZ) -1-
* -2-
* -3-
* -4-
* -5-
* -6-
* -7-
* -8-
HARVARD LAW SCHOOL -1-
* -2-
* -3-
* -4-
* -5-
After the numerous "pauses" and "moratoriums" extending from March 2020 until over 2 years later, May 2022, many
Americans, such as student debt expert, Alan Collinge, citing apparent desperation on the part
of the Federal Government to address the Higher Ed bubble, have said "This is getting silly." Said Collinge: "The student loan “apocalypse” has already happened- more than two years ago. The pandemic is
the nail in [the federal student loan program's] coffin. There is no saving it, and there is no good reason to save it."(-1- * -2- * -3- * -4- *
-5-) Collinge goes on to make numerous factual claims, such as the the claim that "it should not be controversial to say that
defaults for all current student loan borrowers were going to be at least 60–70% (if not higher)…before the pandemic," and the fact that "Lending
systems fail from time to time. This has been true dating back to biblical times, and continues to be true to the present day," claims which have been
fact checked by the nonpartisan advocacy project,
CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM).(Mirrors:
-1- *
-2- *
-3- *
-4- *
-5-)PERMA-LINK: #pause
Interesting report regarding Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA)
In related news, The Registerwas
contacted by one reader who claimed that Sen. Pat Toomey's office had told him that the
senator did not support S.2598, the "FRESH START" student loan bankruptcy bill, which, as of press time, has
twice as many GOP sponsors as Democrat. This
reader granted permission to share his feedback with readers and the senator's office,
should we do a press inquiry or other news & commentary of the higher ed bubble. Our reader confirmed the name of the staffer with whom he spoke, and was quickly responsive to our questions about
a typo, confirming that the aid claimed that Toomey did not support S.2598, because, allegedly, returning bankruptcy
defense, as in the past, would burden the tax payer. Register Editor, Gordon W.
Watts, spoke with our reader for over an hour and a half, clarifying details of what happened.
Update: This writer (Gordon W. Watts) spoke with Sen. Toomey's aid, who informed The Register that there was a small
typo on what the senator said: The aid informed us that he told the caller, our reader, that it was merely his best educated guess that the senator would
be unlikely to support S.2598 as described above, but that Sen. Toomey had not, as of press time, issued a public statement one way, or the other, on the
Cornyn/Durbin/Hawley bill, S.2598. While this was clearly a human misunderstanding on the part of our reader (and no ill will or insult was intended), we
strive for "accuracy in reporting," and will correct all known factual errors.~~Editor, Gordon W. Watts (End of update) While The
Register supports S.2598 based on numerous
Conservative free market, constitutional, and moral grounds, nonetheless, we applaud Toomey for being quickly and politely responsive in directing his
staff to give a direct "yes or no" answer, something most lawmakers have -- as yet -- refused to do. In response to this report of Toomey taking the
"wrong" side of this bill, The Register quickly reached out to Toomey's office with a polite, but firm, press inquiry, asking for clarification on why he might be in opposition to conservative free market economic values or
equally-conservative moral and constitutional bases. We hope to get a formal and official response from Senator Toomey--and other lawmakers who have yet to
weigh in on this matter, in the hopes that some solution can be had to deal with the student loan crisis. While some are calling on students to just "stop
complaining" and "pay back" their loans, others take issue with that, on the basis that, as noted in prior research, students
have repaid taxpayers $1.22 for every dolloar borrowed on defaulted loans
alone (probably more when considering loans in good standing, which have no repayment issues), and the colleges have been repaid as well, which
has caused some commentators to suggest that the federal government get out of the lending business and end the failed lending system--perhaps directly
funding it like public ed (a "Liberal" solution), or perhaps getting out altogether (a "Conservative" solution). Our research suggests that either of these
two solutions would cost taxpayers and students far less than the current status quo. The continued "stalling" and continued "pauses" and "moratoriums" by
the federal government have caused many on both sides of the isle to question the American Higher Education lending system and call for it to be abolished
altogether.
We await speedy reply from lawmakers to our press inquiries, and hope lawmakers stop "kicking the can down the
road," lest we crash the dollar, as many experts are warning.
PERMA-LINK: #SenToomey
* BREAKING: USPTO.gov publishes Register Editor, Gordon Watts' trademark,
in Official Gazette --Today, The Register has learned that the USPTO (U.S. Patent & Trademark
Office) has published Register Editor, Gordon Watts' trademark, CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM), in the Trademark Official Gazette
(TMOG), for official "Publication for Opposition" notice (Tue.11 Jan. 2022) --
CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II (TM), the "nonpartisan" trademark project of Register Editor, Gordon W. Watts, dedicated to finishing the work of the original "Contract With America" (pioneered by Republican, Newt Gingrich, who teamed up with Democrat, Bill Clinton, to use "bipartisan" teamwork
to balance the budget & accomplish other goals), previously in the news, just received notice, this morning, that it was "Published for Opposition" in the Trademark Official Gazette (TMOG). Watts' advocacy project creates an on-line community to advocate for legislation to fix egregious
problems via website hosting and social media. As shown in previous news, lawmakers of both parties refuse to address genuine needs,
harming country and world. The USPTO's actions can be followed via its online tools, the
Trademark Status & Document Retrieval
(TSDR) and the Trademark Official Gazette. The
project is accessible at the following links:
* POLITICS: Fla. lawmakers in the news --Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, makes legislative inquiry of his Federal lawmakers: Where do you stand on
three (3) key issues: Protecting the GRID, cutting pork spending, Constitutional collegiate loan bankruptcy rights (Sat.04 Dec. 2021; UPDATED: Wed.18 May
2022) As reported here at this link, Mr.
Watts, in an early morning email dated Sat. Dec. 04, 2021, make a "constituent" inquiry to his 3 federal lawmakers, Rep. C. Scott Franklin (R-FL-15), Sen.
Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) -- and, immediately, followed up with a
similar "press inquiry" to Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), and party leaders in House and Senate, the following Wed. Dec. 08, 2021,
with "tips" on how to broker a legislative compromise to get past the stalled budget roadblocks--and, an interesting
side
mention of mutual acquaintance, Melvin
Kessler, Manchin's former political rival, and uncle of a high school classmate and long-time friend of Watts, e.g., dropping a few big names to make
a connection: LINK ; ARCHIVES: -1- ; -2- ; -3- ; -4- ;
-5-. Congressman Franklin has had at least three (3) "telephone
town halls" meetings so far, and The Ledger reports that they are "open to all on his list," (mirror links:
-1- *
-2- *
-3- * -4-), but Watts, even after requesting to participate, has
not been invited or allowed to participate in any telephone town halls (as past members of congress have done).
(See also: -1- * -2- * -3-) Watts has occasionally commented on
Franklin's Facebook, but notices another Ledger article which said that, while Congressman Darren Soto and Greg Steube, also of central Florida, allow all
comments to be visible on their Facebook feeds, "including ones that are viciously critical, essentially creating public forums," nonetheless, Franklin had
begin limiting viewership of his Facebook page, so that constituents, such as Linda Steniford of Lakeland, "noticed that she was no longer seeing comments
on Franklin’s Facebook posts. All posts since June 23 are accompanied by the automatically generated phrase, “Most relevant is selected, so some comments
may have been filtered out.”" (mirror links: -1- * -2- *
-3- * -4-) This is the same Scott Franklin who was
one of the Lakeland (Fla.) city commissioners who were on the commission and heard Watts' three (3) presentations on
the illegal 911 and non-emergency call-blocking done by the infamous (but improving) Lakeland Police Department. (mirror links: -1- *
-2- * -3- *
-4- * -5-) While Franklin did not make any visible efforts to investigate or fix the egregious, and obviously life-threatening abuses
(as did Mayor Bill Mutz; see posted videos), nonetheless, Franklin's role, otherwise, seemed to be minor, and whatever his negligence or oversights, he did
not give any indication of ill motives in the view of the undersigned writer, who made said presentations at those meetings. Watts is a regular critic of
lawmakers, often attacking their positions "from the right," and calling them out on excessive tax/spend Liberal policies, including the view of tuition as
a form of tax and overtaxation: "A Polk Perspective: Fix our bankrupt policy on student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, August 04,
2016; FAIR USE *.pdf cache and
"Polk Perspective:
Rescue taxpayers from mounting student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 16, 2018;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache and
"Polk Perspective: Offer
relief for taxes dressed up as ’loans’," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 19, 2019;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache. In fact, this was not the first
time a Lakeland congressman has been called to task for social media behaviour: "Ross Has Heavy Hand Online," By Gordon Wayne Watts (Letters) The Ledger, Jan 24, 2013, 12:41 AM (EST),
Archived copy ; FAIR USE *.pdf
cache ; see also: follow up and news
coverage. Even before that, Watts, in an Oct. 19, 2008 letter to the (now defunct) Tampa Tribune aka TBO.com,
took a hard jab at Adam Putnam, former Republican Congressman for
the Lakeland, Florida area (and FLA AG commissioner, after that), when Putnam started supporting unpopular "bailout" policies, prompting Watts to support
Democrats Doug Tudor and Kathy Castor, both of whom opposed the unpopular and unwise TARP[[1]] and Mortgage[[2]] bailouts. (mirror
links: folder ; letter ; -1- ;
-2- ;
-3- ;
Archive Today snapshot ;
Wayback Machine
snapshot ; Wayback
Machine archive) While Watts and other central-Florida constituents remain wary and suspicious of new congressman, C. Scott Franklin (R-FL-15),
who unseated incumbent Ross Spano, in the previous election, nonetheless, Watts, a Christian, is keeping an open mind, and does not have any complaints
about Franklin's personal preferences or choices on how he runs his Facebook or town halls -- so long as he gets a fair hearing, and accurate
representation by his federal lawmakers (his Member of Congress, Rep. Franklin, and his two U.S. Senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott). Watts is fearful
that the "all talk and no walk" lawmakers of both parties will keep spending taxpayer funds like it's "Monopoly money," that grows on tress and fail to
upgrade and protect our fragile power and telecommunications grid -- not to mention continue to ignore the genuine needs of Americans to have affordable
(even if not free) higher education in our new age of technology and 21st-century commerce. Watts, who surprisingly, got written statements from many
"powerful" leaders in both GOP and Democrat circles, in support of his various legislative requests (GRID upgrades ; PORK spending cuts ;
CONSTITUTIONAL Student Loan Bankruptcy rights), and included same
in his e-mail attachments[[3]], will be surprised and disappointed if lawmakers ignore him this time and refuse to respond to the collective "Voice of the
People" on these various needs -- especially given that they have been made aware of these problems on prior occasions[[4]], and thus were not "caught off
guard" by the recent constituent "inquiry" asking "where do you stand?" We are hopeful that the "tips" on how to broker a legislative compromise to
get past the stalled budget roadblocks -- as well as address higher ed needs (an exchange of pork spending cuts for support for the student loan bankruptcy
bills, the compromise proposed) will be accepted by lawmakers on "both sides of the isle," and will be monitoring this situation closely. * Footnotes:
[[1]] HR 3997: Financial Asset Purchase Authority, Establishes the Troubled Asset Relief Program (T.A.R.P.) to allow the Secretary of the Treasury to
purchase troubled assets from any financial institution, Sec. 101 = VERY unpopular in conservative Polk County, Fla. Failed in the House 205-228, but
Adam Putnam still voted 'yes' for this 'liberal' bill. LINKS: Clerk.House.gov * Archive.vn *
Archive.org *
Cache
[[2]] H R 1424: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, aka the 'Mortgage Bailout': Passed 263-171 in the house, with apparently 1 vacant seat:
Adam Putnam voted 'yea' (Clerk.House.gov * Archive.vn * Archive.org * Cache), and this passed into law.
LINKS: Congress.gov *
Archive.vn *
Archive.org * Cache
[[3]] List of attachments in his e-mail:
[[4]] Documentation that Watts and others had, indeed, notified lawmakers of problems on prior occasions--thus ensuring that we did not
"catch them off guard" without prior notice and opportunity to respond:
LEGAL WRITE-IN "SCAMS": Why else Watts & other "common" Americans may have a hard time getting Sens. Rubio & Scott, Rep. Franklin, &
Gov. DeSantis to represent them: Besides the recent Princeton study[[6]], which documents that politicians listen to “Elites” more than “Average
Citizens,” even when the latter are more numerous, the recent electoral thumping which Watts and one other "write-in" candidate got are a lesson in
"elites" vs "common folk" voters: Everyone remembers the "write-in" loophole scam[[7]][[8]][[9]][[10]][[11]], here in Florida, a "closed primary" state,
which allows "open" primaries" if all candidates are of just one party (all Democrats or all Republicans). In the "scam," the primary "slams shut" and
becomes "closed," allowing party members only (shutting out all other voters) if a "write-in" candidate files to run. Since write-in's have almost no
chance of winning, their action here, basically, "manipulates" the voter pool to shut out all "non-party" member (which, in GOP primaries, helps the
more "conservative" candidate and in Democrat primaries, the more "liberal" candidate).
In the 2008 Dist. 64 Florida House race, Kelli Stargel won with "48,508 votes, or 95 percent" of the vote, according to The Ledger[[14]],
defeating the late Dr. Alton C. Smith (Democrat) and Register editor, Gordon W. Watts (Republican), "write-in" candidates who "received a total of
2,567 votes."[[14]] In fact, both BALLOTPEDIA[[12]] and the official Fla. Dept. of State, Div. of Elections[[13]] results give Smith and Watts
even less votes (with both reporting Kelli Stargel (Republican): 48,604, Alton C. Smith (Write-in): 454, Gordon Wayne Watts (Write-in): 57).
However, why is this relevant? ANSWER: Stargel and two other Republican candidates (Jack English and Phillip Walker) filed to run for Fla House Dist. 64,
hoping to replace Dennis Ross, R-Lakeland, who was term limited, and Stargel won that Aug. 26, 2008 primary, which was open only to Republican voters. But,
why was this primary closed to non-Republican voters? ANSWER: Even though no Democrat ran that election, nonetheless, as The Ledger reported[[15]],
"two write-in candidates qualified at the last minute to keep members of other parties from voting in the election." According to Florida law, the presence
of the write-ins had the same effect as if a Democrat had filed to run for this seat: It closed the primary, slamming it shut to all non-Republican
voters.
Many contemporary observers took issue with Smith and Watts, thinking these two men were "scammers" like most write-in candidates, who, according to
TCPalm.com[[7]], once "they have filed, most write-ins are never heard from again. They rarely, if ever, campaign, advertise or attend public
forums. In most cases, a write-in candidate's singular objective is to close the primary."[[7]] However, both Smith and Watts surprised all contemporary
observers: Both actively campaigned[[16]][[17]], both wrote letters to the editor[[18]][[19]], seeking votes, and, once they filed to run, both
admitted[[20]] that they had both been asked by political operatives to run to "close the primary"[[20]] (something very rare now-days in this type scam,
as most write-ins never admit to anything). The Ledger reported[[20]], of Watts, that: "Watts raised $154 through Sept. 27. About one third of
that was listed as donations from Linda Ivell, Republican state committee woman for Polk County. [] Watts recently said Stargel asked him to run as a
write-in candidate to keep the Republican primary closed. [] He did it, he said, to illustrate the "loophole" that lets write-in candidates close a
primary," and, of smith: "Smith said a Stargel supporter asked him to run for that reason. [] He said he supports closed primaries, in which only members
of a particular party can vote, but that he regrets not going the extra step to put himself on the ballot. That also would have kept the primaries closed,
while allowing him more exposure as a candidate."[[20]]
So, in conclusion, the "WRITE-IN SCAMS," while legal, are usually not morally upright, according to most observers and editorials. However, even when
participants, such as Smith and Watts, try to do the "right thing," and run for the "right" reasons, seeking real change (and not merely to "shut out"
voters), nonetheless, they get a sound "thumping," and soundly defeated by the "powers that be," simply because they are "little" and their opponents,
"big." Thus, as the Princeton study[[6]] proved with sound science, Watts & other "common" Americans may have a hard time getting their lawmakers to
represent them (as opposed to elite & powerful political interests). However, we must continue to fight for justice for all--not merely the "elite."
Below is further documentation that Watts and others have made genuine efforts to get lawmakers to fix key, critical threats to our
nation and state -- and should either address these problems or step down:
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Florida state lawmakers were contacted by Watts and others on a number of occasions:
Thu, Apr 15, 2021 at 4:48 PM email to state and federal lawmakers about multiple
concerns: Grid vulnerabilities, lack of intelligence exchange between state agencies, and Federal student debt to state annual budget ratio:
Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 12:49 PM email about student debt and constitutional bankruptcy
uniformity for college loans, Thu, Oct 28, 2021 at 1:47 PM Scheduling
request to Governor's office about above Date: Fri, Oct 29, 2021, 3:15 PM,
email: Subject: SCHEDULING REQUEST: Gov. DeSantis regarding state sovereignty issues affected by Federal student debt to Fla state debt ratio (scroll
down for forward) Sat, Nov 20, 2021 at 3:27 PM email re Fla. Executive
Order for EMP protection ; Cc: FEDERAL LAWMAKERS ; As well as this e-mail to the governor, PRIORITY I Scheduling Request (@Fla Gov Ron DeSantis; cc as indicated), Dated: Sun, Dec 19, 2021 at 12:17 AM, on the these
subjects (viz: related email to Fla. Senate President on Mon, Dec 20, 2021, 12:38
PM, an official response from the Fla DOH and our reply), and a friendly reminder of previous e-mails ; Not to mention, Watts' numerous phone calls to Gov. Ron
DeSantis' office, (asking staff where he stands on pork bailout cuts in higher ed loan subsidies, student loan bankruptcy, or protecting the grid,
etc.), various interactions on social media, or public columns on Thr04Aug2016 ; cache ;
Fri16Nov2018 ;
cache ;
Tue19Nov2019 ;
cache ; Plus, many others support our various
reasonable requests: GRID security ;
Budget / PORK spending cuts ;
Constitutional Student Loan Bankruptcy right, but lawmakers keep ignoring
Americans, and, thus, we agree with Gallop on the exceptionally low popularity / approval ratings Congress has[[5]], and suspect it is because, as a recent
Princeton study[[6]] finds: “that majorities of the American public actually have little influence over the policies our government adopts” –and: “even
overwhelmingly large pro-change majorities, with 80 percent of the public favoring a policy change, got that change only about 43 percent of the time.”
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
* RELIGION: Moody Radio in the news --Moody Radio icon, Dr. Charlie Dyer, answers Bible question -- reports trouble receiving 'regular' email (Tue.26 Oct.
2021; Updated: Mon.15 Nov. 2021) As reported in previous news (link -- archive), Register Editor, Gordon Watts, well-liked and semi-regular caller
to many call-in shows, including the legendary international
COAST TO COAST: AM, called in to Moody's
Open Line Live, hosted by Dr. Michael Rydelnik, back in 2016, asking for feedback
on an area of infant soteriology which hadn't been asked before (though similar questions had been), but was unable to get through on the phones that day.
Watts tried again in February of this year (via web
form -- via regular email), and his submissions were
confirmed as "received" by the call-screeners that day, but they informed him that his question was too hard or otherwise not acceptable to be taken live
(as is usually done) for reasons not explained, even after polite and diligent inquiry -- and even though this is a valid question that has been taken by
many other call-in programs, including COAST (link --
cache), and, of course,
submitted to and
answered by Dr. Charlie Dyer, show host of
The Land And The Book -- and other call-in programs, not listed here,
which imply that Watts' question was an appropriate Bible question, and not something whacky or off-topic. After Dr. Rydelnik's program continued to refuse
to even allow a "mailbag" (e-mailed) submission (if, for example, they felt the caller was argumentative, or something), Mr. Watts, who was attempting to
get additional feedback from top theologians when planning updates to his book on the same subject, decided to give up, for that time being, expecting Dr. Rydelnik's program to keep its word and answer "any"
Bible question. After Dr. Dyer's kind, and detailed, response, Mr. Watts felt an
obligation to reply to Dr. Dyer's many points, agreeing on some, disagreeing on others, and thanking him.
(E-mail reply --
Addendum: add'l cc's) After a few days of not having
heard back, Watts used both the "Website Form" and
voicemail message to diligently inquire. Dr. Dyer was kind enough to promptly respond, informing him that "Gordon, [] I received this email and the voicemail, but I didn’t receive the earlier email
with the link to Amazon." After careful inspection, it was discovered that one of Watts' "regular" emails was received (see replies below
Dr. Dyer's response), but that his original reply,
while obviously correctly formatted & addressed, was never
received. After careful consideration, Watts uploaded the original reply, here, with attachments, into a special folder:
/DrCharlieDyer, and leveraged the full authority of the Free Press via his eponymous and
namesake blogs, here (The Register: GordonWatts.com and
GordonWayneWatts.com) to publish them, and afford Dr. Dyer "easy access" to his detailed
reply, in order to show proper respect for Dr. Dyer's time and efforts. While the cause of the e-mail failure is presently
unknown (intentional blocking of email addresses, or, more-likely, "spam" filters allowing a small email, shown in replies below, but blocking emails with larger attachments), nonetheless, Watts went to special lengths to afford Dr. Dyer
access to his reply, which has critical details for theologians who study in this area. For those who are so-inclined, The Register posits two
(2) prayer requests: First, Dr. Rydelnik's program, for reasons unknown, is documented to be an "outlier" in how it handles "call-in" questions, being
practically the only "Open Line" call-in show to not truly allow/accept "all" questions on the topic at hand. While emotions run high on the obvious
mistreatment, here, we ask all parties to trust Jesus' advice in
Matt. 5:21-25 and Matt.
18:15-17, be patient, and seek genuine resolution, love, and peace. Secondly, Dr. Dyer, who was kind enough to reply a second (2nd) time, reporting
that, indeed, "I looked…and I can’t find it in my spam folder. Sorry!," previously informed the undersigned writer that "Unfortunately, I don’t think I
will have the time to pursue this topic any further. I’m getting ready to head back to Israel next Monday...I write all that to say I simply won’t have
time to add anything else to my already packed schedule." For these reasons, we ask all to pray that these various difficulties are addressed by Sovereign
God Almighty in a gracious way, and, additionally, that, while Dr. Dyer, himself, is busy, nonetheless, we pray, and ask others to pray, that MOODY BIBLE
INSTITUTE, with its "deep bench" of theologians can give an additional look at this area of soteriology, one which, while similar to the prior
"Universalist" theories, is unique and different -- and a "Bible Question" that has not, to this writer's knowledge, ever been addressed on MOODY
RADIO on-air at any time, thus ripe for discussion. Update (Mon.15 Nov. 2021) This past Saturday, 11/13/2021, this writer
called in to Moody's Open Line Live, hosted by Dr. Michael Rydelnik, once again, to give them a "fair chance" to weigh in on the various infant soteriology
theories, one way or the other, discussed in his
book on the same subject; and, while Dr. Rydelnik, once again declined to take the question on-air, for reasons known only to himself, he was
nonetheless kind enough to speak off-air to this writer, during the commercial break, and let me know where he stands: He told this writer that he agrees
with Dr. Charlie Dyer's response "a hundred percent,"
but had no comment, one way or the other, on this writer's reply to Dr.
Dyer: (*.mp3 audio format *
*.mov format with annotations *
*.wmv format with annotations) Thus, we appreciate the prayers,
which, in this case, were answered in chief part, and look forward to further Moody Radio programs on
this and other topics. Gordon W. Watts, Editor-in-Chief
Editor's Note: The folder /DrCharlieDyer, containing attachments included in the email reply
to Dr. Dyer included a PDF copy of Watts' book, but, due to copyright issues, can not be posted online, thus, a blog entry about it shall serve as a stand
in. Attachments included with the email are as follows:
* BREAKING: Fourth (4th) Major student loan servicer quits:Crash of the U.S. Dollar eventual, if not imminent (Wed.13 Oct. 2021) As reported by other news outlets, NAVIENT
became the fourth major student loan servicer to announce an abrupt exist from the U.S. Department of Education's troubled and tumultuous student loan
system. (1 -
2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6) In July, two other major student loan servicers — GSM&R (Granite State Management and Resources)
(1 -
2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -
6 - 7) and FedLoan Servicing (1 - 2 - 3) (subsidiary of The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Authority and which handles the Public Service Loan Forgiveness
program) — also announced their abrupt departure this past July 2021. Moreover, late last year, in October 2020, UHEAA (The Utah Higher Education Assistance
Authority, and which serviced over one million student loan borrowers) announced an end to its contract with the U.S. Department of Education.
(1 -
2 - 3 - 4 - 5 -
6 - 7 -
8 -
9 -
10 - 11 -
12) In spite of the fact that NAVIENT extended its contract
(1 -
2 -
3 - 4), nonetheless, Forbes just reported that “Despite the contract extension, Navient doesn’t intend to continue as a
federal student loan servicer with the Education Department. The Education Department granted the contract extension before Navient announced that
it would exit federal student loan servicer.” Source:“Why Navient Got A $391 Million Student Loan Contract,” by Zack Friedman, FORBES, Oct. 13, 2021,
09:14am, EDT: LINK ;
Archive Today ;
Wayback MachineForbeswent on to report that “Despite a $391 million contract extension, Navient decided to exit federal student loan servicing,” which begs
the question of “Why”: It's not just everyday that a huge company turns down a $391 Million “easy money” contract. While potential oversight from the Dept
of Ed, Congress, and CFPB (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau), or possible lawsuits from State Attorneys General for fraud/misconduct were cited,
nonetheless, it is clear: The Federal Student lending system is an epic failure and collapsing under its own weight, suggesting perhaps it be shut down
and discontinued, in favour of a simpler, less costly, funding model—such as what is used to fund public education instead of the current troubled and
tumultuous American Higher Ed student loan system.
[#2.] As reported elsewhere, former Sec. of Education, Betsy DeVos, called out the Dept of Ed for its profligate and reckless spending in her 11-27-2018
speech: “Today, FSA's [student debt] portfolio is nearly 10 percent of our nation's debt. [] Stop and absorb that for a moment. Ten percent of our
total national debt.” Source: U.S. Dept of Education, Sec. of Education, Betsy DeVos, 11-27-2018 speech: (Sources:
LINK - 1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5) DeVos was obviously copying (without giving
attribution or credit) a prior statement, made eleven (11) days earlier, in a published column by Register editor, Gordon Watts: “My prior column
documented [former congressman, Dennis] Ross’ promise to not only support bankruptcy equality for collegiate loans, but also opposition for use of tax
dollars to make or guarantee said loans. But he never introduced legislation for either. Where has that gotten us? [] Collegiate debt, now almost $2
trillion, is almost 10 percent of total U.S. debt. I predict we will crash the U.S. dollar if we ignore “crazy Gordon” one more time.” Source: “Polk
Perspective: Rescue taxpayers from mounting student debt,” By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 16, 2018:
(Sources: LINK -
1 -
2 - 3 -
4 -
5)
[#3.] The looming "Debt Ceiling" crisis: "If the US defaults on debt, expect the dollar to fall – and with it, Americans’ standard of living," by staff at
THE CONVERSATION, October 11, 2021, 8.17am, EDT:
LINK ; Archive Today ;
Wayback Machine ; Google search ;
Google news ;
Yahoo! search ;
Yahoo! news ;
"U.S. faces a recession if Congress doesn't address the debt limit within 2 weeks, Yellen says," by Thomas Franck, CNBC,
Pub. Tue. Oct. 5, 2021, 7:40 AM (EDT), Updated Tue. Oct. 5, 2021, 2:38 PM (EDT), LINK ; Archive Today ;
Wayback Machine ; See also:UsNews.com ; Reuters.com
[#4.] Many Bible commentators believe that Bible, with its surprisingly accurate predictions in
Ezekiel 37:21-22 and
Isaiah 66:7-8 that Israel would become
a nation after an approximately 2,000-year absence, also predicts hyper-inflation and/or famine in
Revelation 6:6, which says that a whole
day's wages (denarius or "penny" in KJV) would be needed for a day's ration of food ("quart of wheat"):
LINK ;
Archive Today ;
Wayback
Machine. While, normally, this "proof" of potential hyperinflation or a collapse of the dollar would be restricted to "opinion" or "religion" pieces,
nonetheless, The Bible is given credence for its many accurate predictions. One example: Ezekiel 37:21-22 predicts that Israel will be re-gathered & reborn
as a nation -and Isaiah 66:7-8 goes on to add that Israel will need only one day to be reborn. However, never in the history of the world had such a thing
happened before. But, as predicted and foretold, Israel became a recognised nation, and "born in one day," as predicted. After being away from their
homeland for almost 2,000 years, the Jewish People were given a national homeland in Palestine by the Balfour Declaration in November, 1917. In 1922, the
League of Nations gave Great Britain the mandate over Palestine. On May 14, 1948, Great Britain withdrew her mandate, and immediately Israel was declared a
sovereign state, and her growth and importance among nations became astonishing -- thus adding credibility to the hyperinflation, famine, and economic
collapse predictions. Sources:History.State.gov ;
Britannica.com ;
History.com ;
Wikipedia.org ; See also:1 ;
2 ;
3 ;
4
[#5.] Navient becomes the fourth (4th) major student loan servicer to announce an abrupt exist from the U.S. Department of Education's troubled and
tumultuous student loan system, a hot potato item that major banks don't even want to touch in a "servicing" capacity, much less a lending capacity.
[#6.] The COVID-19 Pandemic economic downturn has not only taken a devastating toll world-wide, but moreover, due to recent controversies surrounding
vaccine "mandates," many industries are disrupted, experiencing wide-spread "walkouts" and "sickouts," not to mention the overflow experienced by some
hospitals which were overrun by COVID patients -- thus directly and indirectly affecting the supply chain and making daily deliveries of many commodities
uncertain.
[#7.] Grid, weather, emerging solar flare threats, the slow-but-sure collapse of earth's protective magnetic field, pollution, environment, and
exponentially-increasing population densities, foreign wars and unrest, and potential EMP attacks, hacking & cybersecurity threats, and such:
(Sources: LINK -
1 -
2 -
3 -
4)
Thus, lawmakers must file some version of the loan limits (pork spending cuts) bill, shown in APPENDIX-A of
the written testimony which Register
editor, Gordon Watts, recently submitted to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. LINKS:
1 ;
2 ;
3 ;
4 ;
5 ;
6 and/or shut down the DOE's ability to use taxpayer funds to make/back collegiate loans, as
this bill, H.R. 899 (116th Congress) sought to do, indirectly, by
shutting it down: 1 ;
2 ;
3 ;
4 ;
5 ;
6 ;
7, in favour of a less costly higher education funding model.
As explained elsewhere, this is only politically
possible if bankruptcy defense is returned to student loans, in order to serve as a free market check against graft, excesses, and the
resultant hemorrhage bleedout we currently see, all of which make the recent student loan bankruptcy bills among the most important bills pending before
congress. Time is short, and we must act to avert a crash of the dollar, and resultant
crash of the grid.
* BREAKING NEWS from Dept of Ed, related to Student Loan "Forgiveness"(Mon.06 Sept. 2021;
UPDATED on Tue.12 Oct. 2021 with breaking updates) As documented in a new legal memo published by Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, 6 of 8 recent papers by legal experts came to the conclusion
that The President does, indeed, have statutory legal authority, under Federal Law (the 1965 HEA), to issue an Executive Order to cancel all federally-held
Student Debt (but not privately-held collegiate debt). However, breaking news from the U.S. Department of Education, in an official press release, in which
the DOE admits that it is breaking the law, cements the previously-argued claims regarding loan "forgiveness": They can only break the law on this head if
they have other authority on which to rely, such as The 1965HEA, thus proving the accuracy of this new legal memo.
While Mr. Watts takes no position "for" or "against" loan cancellation as a moral, economic, or
practical solution (noting that it would solve a symptom and give relief to genuine victims of economic fraud crimes and documented price-gouging, but fail
to address the underlying causes), nonetheless, Watts writes in response to another higher ed finance expert, nationally-recognised expert, Mark Kantrowitz
who sides with the minority view. After Watts began hearing reports and complaints about Kantrowitz' view on this, he decided to revisit this issue, which
was addressed in a prior editorial on this subject: Kantrowitz is not only an international
expert, here, but is genuine in his honour and care for students, which raised concern when he came down on the "wrong side" of the issue. For that reason,
Watts decided to write a formal legal memo giving this issue a much-more detailed analysis than before -- and hearing "both sides" of the issue from many
other experts:
UPDATE: (Sat.18 Sept. 2021) Republican lawmakers, apparently in an attempt to offer an "alternative" to "forgiveness" proposals, here, now
have a "Student Loan Bankruptcy" bill with twice as many GOP sponsors as Democrat: LINK --End of Update
* "Forgiveness" is not legally correct in this context: It implies a "sin" committed by the victims of documented price-gouging --
which is usually not the case. Student Loan "Cancellation" is a more accurate term. But we chose to use it in our title, as "Loan Forgiveness" is much more
widely understood at a glance than Loan "Cancellation." Permission is granted to republish in whole, unaltered, so long as attribution is given, such as
the suggested citation above. Sharing links is also welcome. "Fair Use" quotes for commentary, criticism, and research -- with attribution -- are also
welcome. Donations, through the links at the top-left, though not tax deductible, are also welcome to support our research as we advocate for legislative
solutions to avoid a crash of the dollar, a crash of the "GRID," and other such matters: If Members of Congress can get $200,000.oo/year to royally crash
the economy, surely a "few coins" in the donations cup to those opposing them are as warranted, if not moreso.
* BREAKING:(Sat.18 Sept. 2021) "Student Loan Bankruptcy" bill now has twice as many GOP sponsors as Democrat: On Aug. 04, Sen. Dick Durbin
(D-IL), Senate Judiciary Committee chair, introduced S.2598 - The
"FRESH START Through Bankruptcy Act". What is unusual, however, is that, as of press time, it has twice as many Republican sponsors as Democrat. That's
unusual, perhaps a first in the history of the nation. Historically, student loan bankruptcy legislation has enjoyed almost no GOP support.
H.R.2648, the "Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of
2019," from last session (116th Congress), for example, had 28 Democrat cosponsors but only 1 Republican cosponsor. Its Senate companion bill,
S.1414, had 20 Democrat but only 1 Independant
cosponsors. In fact, H.R.4907, the "Private
Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2019" from this session (117th Congress, 2021-2022, oddly-enough with "2019" in its title) has only Democrats
as sponsor & cosponsors, but no GOP lawmakers. As reported
elsewhere, Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, was likely the political reporter who, via the "Free Press Doctrine," made this happen: After
a nearly 30-minute phone call to aides in
Sen. Josh Hawley's DC office, at almost 5pm on the 15th of September, asking why he
hadn't cosponsored a bill which he strongly supported in his public
floor comments(YouTube video: cued up to 1h:26m:42s -
Source video: Scroll to 01:40:57 - Archives:
Local /and/
Wayback), during a recent Judiciary Committee hearing, Watts, when checking email notifications, the following day
from Congress.gov, saw Hawley had signed on as cosponsor, probably that evening as a
result of his 26 min, 31 sec telephonic press inquiry. The result of that
was that the bill, which had, as original sponsors, Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX), now had another GOP cosponsor, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO),
giving it twice as many GOP sponsors, overall. Why is this, experts wonder? Is this a
statistical anomaly? No, most would agree: Cornyn and Hawley are regarded some of the most conservative lawmakers on the hill. While some speculate that
the "pandemic" economy devastation may have played a part in this, as well as potential for GOP lawmakers to lose voters during midterm elections, the fact
remains: Numerous strong "Conservative"
arguments exist for student loan bankruptcy uniformity, according to numerous legal experts:
(Local cache
* Mirror-1
* Mirror-2
* Mirror-3
* Archive-1
* Archive-2) In fact, Rep. Danny K. Davis (R-IL-07), widely regarded as "Liberal" by most, gave one of the best "Conservative"
arguments "for" student loan bankruptcy in prepared remarks quoted in
a
recent press release by Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09), sponsor of H.R.4907 from this session: "The 2005 bankruptcy restrictions penalize borrowers for
pursuing higher education, provide no incentive to private lenders to lend responsibly, and likely affect African American borrowers more
negatively than other borrowers." Emphasis in bold reflect free market pressures of such "incentive" for clarity; not in original:
LINK
* Local cache
* Mirror-1
* Mirror-2
* Mirror-3
* Archive Today
* Wayback Machine Perhaps GOP leadership is starting to realise that they need an alternative to the various Liberal proposals, chief
among them the Student Loan "Forgiveness" proposal, which now has even provoked a
petition with over a million signatures. Given this unusual turn of events, in shifting political winds among GOP, we've created a "Courage Scorecard"
(PDF format **.html webpage * Word *.doc format), which attempts to offer
current information on where lawmakers (and The President and Dept of Ed) stand on key Higher Education issues. While it will be difficult to keep track of
all 435 Members of Congress and 100 senators, nonetheless, this "work in progress" should offer assistance to readers and citizens on knowing where their
lawmakers stand, in case they wish to seek legislation to address the looming higher ed bubble and "costs of college," which are no longer affordable, as
just a few decades ago. Readers who are confused about these issues, and the "pros" and "cons" of competing proposed solutions, are encouraged to download
the written testimony of editor, Gordon Watts,
recently submitted to the U.S Senate Judiciary Committee, regarding collegiate debt bankruptcy reform, as well as his
legal memo addressing cancellation of student debt by Executive
Order versus by legislation (the latter, which would require raising taxes and appropriation due to PayGo, the former, which would not). Additionally,
CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM)(see Wed.11 Aug. 2021
press release, below), now provides resources for both understanding the problems and offering proposed solutions that don't break the bank, in our
attempts to avert and prevent a duel crash of the dollar and crash of the "grid": As 911 and power are important to all, this page is required reading, a
must for all--and readers, once educated & motivated, are expected to vocally demand
House and
Senate lawmakers, and
The President(and possibly also The
Deptartment of Education) promptly and completely address the threats we face, or else the entirety of this project is a waste of valuable
time/resources.
ADDENDUM: PROOF THAT REMOVAL OF BANKRUPTCY WAS NOT JUSTIFIED BY BANKRUPTCY ABUSE: Back when student loans were treated the same as
all other loans in bankruptcy court, only about zero-point-three (0.3%) percent were discharged in bankruptcy. (Because college was
affordable, remember? No one even NEEDED a "student loan," much less one subsidised by our tax dollars, thus bankruptcy abuse did not occur. But when
Liberals made "student loans" available on the tax dollars, colleges jacked up tuition to match increased borrowing abilities, creating a Higher Education
Bubble -- which WILL burst if we don't stop insane spending of tax$$ on making/backing college loans.) PROOF: "By 1977 only .3% of student loans had been
discharged in bankruptcy." Source:"The History of Student Loans and Bankruptcy Discharge," by Steven Palmer, Partner at Curtis, Casteel & Palmer,
PLLC, LinkdIn, Published Oct 1, 2015:
LINK *
Archive-1 *
Archive-2. MOREOVER: "Debunking the first premise is the fact that by 1977, under 0.3% of the value of all federally guaranteed student
loans had been discharged in bankruptcy...(See H.R. REP. NO. 95-595, at 148 (1977).)" Source:"ENDING STUDENT LOAN
EXCEPTIONALISM: THE CASE FOR RISK-BASED PRICING AND DISCHARGEABILITY," 126 Harv. L. Rev. 587, HARDARD LAW REVIEW,
quote from p.607, Dec. 20, 2012:
PDF paper *
Archives: 1 *
2 *
Local cache *
3 *
4 *
5 *
Article cite *
Archives: 1 *
2 *
Local cache *
3 *
4 *
5 *
Thus, there was no abuse by students seeking bankruptcy, and thus removal was not justified. In fact, removal of bankruptcy defense (aka the Economic
Second Amendment) made students defenseless, and thus *increased* price-gouging and abuses that were not present before. For example, credit card
companies don't loan insane amounts because borrowers have bankruptcy defense. Thus, bankruptcy defense must be restored to avert and prevent a
crash of the dollar, which is threatened with this insane lending using our tax dollars.
*** PRESS RELEASE:(Wed.11 Aug. 2021) Register editor,
Gordon W. Watts, launches CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM), a nonpartisan legislative advocacy project, in order to finish the
unfinished business of Newt Gingrich. Unlike Gingrich's project, this is nonpartisan and addresses citizen complaints from both sides of the isle, and is a
project of the citizens speaking to lawmakers, demanding action (unlike Gingrich's project, which was a project of lawmakers speaking to citizens, to
solicit votes to help the GOP retake the House, Senate, and Oval Office). However, Watts' "PART II" continuation follows the same "60% issues" pattern set
by Gingrich's original 1994 project, insofar as we focus solely on issues which we believe have at least sixty (60%)
percent support among American citizens. This is focused primarily on American federal lawmakers (House & Senate), but has elements of appeal to
the Executive Branch, the "4th Estate" aka news media, and citizen awareness campaigns. While "American" in nature, we hope this will be of benefit to the
world. Top issues include protection of the power/telcom GRID & satellites, cutting pork spending (important to "Conservatives") to
make this possible, and use of Constitutional bankruptcy uniformity to operate as a "Free Market" check on pork spending to make cuts more attainable.
"Costs of College" (important to "Liberals") is also addressed, with proposed legislative, executive, and judicial solutions from
both sides of the isle. "CONTRACT WITH AMERICA: PART II(TM)" is our trademark phrase, and we are seeking official copyright
status, and expect it to be so soon. The page is "desktop friendly" and "mobile friendly," with interactive links to social media, documented sources, and
other resources, as well as a "DARK/NIGHT" and "LIGHT/DAY" theme toggle button. Official links with both mirrors and archives -- in case THE GRID (or web
server) go down:
UPDATE: USPTO.gov publishesRegister Editor, Gordon Watts' trademark, in Official Gazette
* Minor Updates:(Sun.08 Aug. 2021)
As webmaster, it is occasionally necessary to update this online newspaper, and I have discovered that links to my recent "gay marriage" case
are not clearly visible to readers, thus minor updates are necessary. For information on my Amicus Curiae (friend of the court brief) in the
recent big "Gay Marriage" case, at the Federal Appeals court (which preceded the "big" U.S. Supreme Court case on the same subject), here is a link to the
online docket with free downloads: * COURT DOCKET
* Mirror-1 cache
* Mirror-2 cache
* Archive Today cache-1
* Archive Today cache-2
* Wayback Machine
archive * My participation was unique in two (2) ways: First, I was the only "non-lawyer" which this court allowed to participate (so far
as I know: A few other non-lawyers were denied participation). Secondly, I was the only "pro-marriage" litigant to advocate and defend gays against
mistreatment (for example, hospital visitations, life insurance policies, etc.), while at the same time defending the 1-man, 1-woman definition of
marriage (under Equal Protection standards) arguing that polygamy, aka plural marriage, had more legal precedent, and would have to be allowed if "same
sex" marriages were allowed by the court. See e.g., the 01/06/2015 entry, and related "ORDER: regarding misc. motions," entered regarding my brief,
by Justice Martin, accepting my amicus brief. ~Editor, G.W.Watts//
* PRESS RELEASE:(Wed.24 Mar. 2021 ; UPDATED Sun.28 Mar. 2021) Bobby Watts Speed Shop and
Auto / Engine Parts - MUSEUM is published, online, and now now open to visitors, and
features Bobby's 4 SPEED SHOPS, his AMERICAN EAGLE GYM (Plant City, FLA, "A Symbol of Strength"), and his PROJECT AMERICA. Mr. Watts sold car parts in
central Florida from about 1966 until May 2018, over 50 years later, and was famous locally among local racing enthusiasts, and possibly nationwide,
depending on the audience. Bobby briefly worked for "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, the legendary "King of Drag
Racing," when they lived in the Central Florida in the early years. See photos of the 4 shops, and when he sold parts from his home in Plant City.
* Higher Education:(Sat.27 Feb. 2021)
Yes, Joe Biden Can 'Forgive' $50,000 Of Student Loans: But should
he? No matter which side you're on,... you're very likely WRONG, as I will quickly show below, so pay close attention: The stakes are high... very
high. As but one example of how “both sides” are almost uniformly wrong, I show that fellow-Conservatives are wrong to dismiss
“cancellation” as a 'bad' policy, when, indeed, it is the 2ND-best option: As Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) defines tuition, it is a form of tax, & students are
sorely over-taxed. Moreover, ALL college debt has already been more-than fully paid for twice: First, the moment student take out over-inflated loans
(that >85% will never be able to repay, according to the former COO of the Dept of Ed), taxpayers pay off colleges IN FULL. Secondly, it is
well-documented that students have more-than paid back taxpayers, as they've paid $1.22 for every $1.00 borrowed--and that at
illegally-inflated price-gouging prices. (Where's the DOJ to investigate illegal price-gouging, when you need them.) The stakes are very high: As over $2
Trillion of U.S. Debt is Student Debt (comprising almost 10% of total Nat'l Debt), taxpayers will see the dollar crash if we don't stop these unwise
subsidies of higher ed loans (which we got by without for decades, and can do so again). Further, college jack up tuition when taxpayer-funded subsidies
are available. Lastly, when precious tax dollars are diverted for purposes that do nothing but enrich elite, rich colleges (which often don't even allow
'in-person' attendance, due to "Pandemic" issues), we are unable to fund needed upgrades to protect the Power & Telecommunications Grid, critical
infrastructure, & other needs. “Liberals” are also wrong to tout cancellation as the 'best' option, when, in fact, one even-better option
exists--the twin Conservative Free Market solutions outlined by Conservative heavyweight, Gordon Wayne Watts.
As over 44.7 Million Americans hold obscenely-heavy unrepayable Student Debt, & another 40-50 Million are cosigners, family, or friends (meaning that
one-third, or almost one-half of all adult Americans are victims of this "new form" of slavery--Debt Slavery), it is not an understatement to say that
economic, political, & social unrest at stake threaten to crash the dollar, the grid, and irreversibly crush our nation. (And, I add on a personal
note: The GOP keeps getting a 'beat down' for so royally screwing up this very easy area of politics, losing elections as a result: One glaring example
is the refusal to back 'sensible' measures like bankruptcy defense: GOP lawmakers & our business friends--including Pres. Trump--get repeated & massive
bankruptcy discharge, but tell college students: "Bankruptcy for me, but not for thee," in double-standard style. If loan cancellation has a strong
argument, how much more bankruptcy Uniformity -which is required by the U.S. Constitution's "Uniformity clause" -- look it up, which is "the tell" as to
the lack of morals that refuse to abide by the Golden Rule in this regard--and lose at the ballot box, as a result.) As this is the same "Gordon
Watts" who almost won the legendary pro-life 'Terri Schiavo' case--all by himself, doing better than all other "pro-life" litigants--combined, this short,
10-page, paper (not counting sources or the 1-page graph included), are well worth your time--and will help you when (not if, but when) you inevitably
speak to reluctant Federal Lawmakers who are beholden to Higher Ed lobbyists & other 'monied' special interests.
UPDATE: (Sat.18 Sept. 2021) Republican lawmakwers, apparently in an attempt to offer an "alternatvive" to "forgivenss" proposals, here, now
have a "Student Loan Bankruptcy" bill with twice as many GOP sponsors as Democrat: LINK --End of Update
ACTION ITEMS: Stop being lazy: The fate of the nation is at risk: Calling your Lawmakers does work--but only if you stop
being lazy: After downloading & studying the research, here, contact your
your Congressman/Congresswoman &
your U.S. Senators. Mr. Watts, the author, is a true Conservative, who
opposes 'Cancellation' and prefers the Conservative "Free Market" solutions outlined, but honestly acknowledges the facts as they are. See 'Terri Schiavo'
section on this site, Google to verify, or see the court's own website, if you have legal accuman, but tarry not: Time is running out before the "Big One"
hits our economy, and makes the 2008 crash look like peanuts.
* Health/Science: BOOK REVIEWS(Wed.27 Jan. 2021; Last Updated: Fri.12 Feb. 2021)
Follow-up to our Wed. 27 Nov. 2019 coverage, below, of 2X Near Death Experiencer, Kevin F. Montague,
scholar, scientist, & twice a guest on Coast to Coast: AM. We give a book review to his 4 books:
(1) The Master's Key to Unlocking and Mastering Chronic-Disease (2) Take Back Your Power: Review of Dr. Robert C. Beck's micro-currents research;
(3) Special Healthcare Report: How to clear/control Rosacea, skin blemishes, & aging spots naturally, as well as address Nasal & Ear Colonics
naturally with common household items; and, (4) PROSTATE RELIEF NOW! (ebook). ** NOTE: There is some FREE stuff included. Book review--
to be updated incrementally-- available in 3 formats: * PDF format
* HTML webpage * Word *.doc
*
*
* Elections 2020: UPDATE(Wed.27 Jan. 2021)
Why the GOP keeps losing: They did NOT take my advice on these five (5) issues, as elucidated in my "Letter to (former) Sen.
Loeffler": /LetterToSenLoeffler *
Permalink-1 *
Permalink-2 *
Archived cache *
* Successful Student Loan Bankruptcy:(Thr.15 Oct. 2020)The Register
features guest columnist, Lucille Bartoo, from Modesto, CA. - Lucy Bartoo explains how she won a student loan discharge -- acting as her own lawyer.
Editor's preface explains why this 1995 lawsuit win, Lucille Bartoo vs. U.S. Dept. of Ed. and CA Ed. Loan Programs, et. al., Case #: 95-91125, is
relevant for today: “Is Your Educational Bankruptcy Just Another Lie?,” by Lucille
'Lucy' Bartoo, Guest columnist, The Register, Thursday, 15 October 2020.
* PERMA-LINKS: Mirror 1 *
Mirror 2 *
Archive
*
* FREE Audio/PDF Bible Downloads:(Mon.31 Aug. 2020)The Register is providing free PDF downloads of the Holy Bible in 4
different versions, all with no copyright restrictions (in the Public Domain), and all known to be very "literal" or "accurate"
translations: KJV, AKJV, WEB, and WMB. We're also able to provide audio downloads in the KJV, by book (where you don't have to keep clicking for the next
chapter, but can sit & listen to the whole book, in *.mp3 audio format). Click here to visit download page.
If you're viewing this on another mirror, here are official download mirror archives:
MIRROR-1 and
MIRROR-2. We don't have YouTube versions, but it's a better investment to
download & have "offline" copies, rather than depend on YouTube or any other website (even this one). WHY, you might ask? ANSWER: "Behold, the days come,
saith the LORD GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for
water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:" AMOS 8:11, Holy Bible (KJV). So, download The Word: Easier for you to
download, listen, read, & study that it was for others to write, edit, upload, & publish. Download, share, & study. Before there's a famine of
The Word, that is.
* Elections 2020:(Fri.14 Aug.
2020) Just this afternoon I (editor, Gordon Watts) sent out a press
inquiry to the 5 Fla. Dist.15 Congressional candidates [(D) ALAN COHN, ADAM HATTERSLEY, and JESSE PHILIPPE ; (R) SCOTT FRANKLIN and ROSS SPANO] on
both the nasty dispute that Franklin and Spano are having, as well as several "policy" or "legislative" matters: Higher Ed, Tuition, Excess Spending; and,
National Security / Grid issues: LINK *
Cache-1 *
Cache-2 *
Archive * Early voting has already begun, but the Primary Election is set for Tuesday, 18 August 2020, and the General Election is on
Tuesday, November 3, 2020. I will try to update Press Inquiry “results,” as the answers pour in from the candidates, but you may visit
my Facebook page,
my Twitter feed, or contact candidates directly for more info.
* UPDATE:FULL Coverage (*.pdf format) of today's Primary and the General Election this
November 3, 2020: Mirror-1 *
Mirror-2 *
Archive-1 *
Archive-2 ~Editor, Gordon W. Watts
* FactCheck:(Tue.30 June
2020)
Shortly after the Internet went down all over the world (ISP & cell phone outages: 22 June 2020 'Grid' news below), urban legend MEMES spread on social
media like wildfire, claiming that Google & Apple installed COVID-19 tracking apps onto users' smartphones without consent, as shown in
this meme, this one, & even
this one. This "conspiracy theory," however, is "mostly false." First the "true" part: Google
recently made firmware updates & added an API (Application Programming Interface) -not technically an app, but rather a software interface which allows two
apps to talk to each other, such as when you book a flight online: YOUR web browser communicates with an AIRLINE website to exchange data. The airline
doesn't see all your private smartphone files, but just what it needs. That much is true: what Google & Apple installed allows your phone to interact with
any "contact tracing technology" that might be developed by state, local, or federal government to help COVID-19 tracing (like South Korea & other places
do, using Bluetooth technology with encrypted/anonymous data). But three key reasons why we know the MEME is FALSE: 1. First, the "exposure
notification" API doesn't share data without consent: In fact, *this* screenshot from my
smartphone clearly shows the default is "off": You must finish setup to install a participating app. 2. Secondly, the
rollout by
Apple/Google was
way back on May 20, well-before the June 15 disruption (below). 3. Third & last: This salient fact, oddly ignored by conspiracy
theorists: Google, Apple, Samsung, etc. don't need "Internet" disruptions to update firmware: They do it all the time, quietly, in the
background--because you assented & consented to their TOS (Terms of Service), which you clicked 'Accept' on their user agreement. RATING: "MOSTLY FALSE"
For further reading, please note: So-called "Conservative," "Liberal," even "non-political" sites all agree:
Snopes *
ZDNet *
USA Today *
FORBES So, bottom line, readers: Read carefully, skills you'll need when contacting lawmakers & other news media about
the four threats we face, below: Excess Spending, Excess Taxation, & resultant crash of the Dollar *and* the Power/Communications
Grid. (Editor, Gordon W. Watts, primary author)
* Courts:(Wed.25 March 2020)
Originally published as "Mortgage Fraud" news on Fri. 14 Apr. 2017 Federal Court
reinstates Civil Rights lawsuit against
ten (10) ILLINOIS state judges: Court lets Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, proceed with lawsuit against 10 IL judges who conspired to facilitate
forgery/title theft of elderly man's house in ongoing Mortgage Fraud case. Watts has standing to intervene, places workman-type lien on house.
Open-Source Docket LINK Presiding:
Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. (U.S. District Court) in Courtroom: 2303 (Everett McKinley Dirksen United States Courthouse, Chicago, IL).
*
Science / BREAKING:(Mon.22 June 2020)BREAKING: “The Grid” nearly crashed twice in recent weeks:
Beginning May 20,
2020, many news agencies reported that satellites
in the South Atlantic region took a direct hit from solar winds as earth's protective magnetic field unexpectedly weakened, causing technical disturbances in
satellites, and
threatening spacecraft and even smartphones to stop working. Then, just weeks later, there were widespread blackouts of numerous social
media, cell phone companies, and ISP's (Internet Service Providers):
#Facebook, #Messanger, and #Instagram all went
down simultaneously this past June 15, 2020; we later found out that
T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and even the powerful Sprint all also suffered spikes in reported
outages beginning around 12pm EST that day. While most of the reports alleged
anonymous DDdoS (Distributed Denial of
Service) Attacks against Facebook, Instagram, Fortnite, T-Mobile and Comcast and even
Chase Bank, a few claimed that there was widespread, and unexplained,
failure of both regular and
backup fiber optic equipment. See also:
TheVerge *
FierceWireless *
TmoNews * FORBES gave an
"UPDATE 5:00 am EDT:",
which said: “Forbes Senior Contributor
Davey Winder has reported that the outages did in fact stem from T-Mobile, and there is no current evidence of a coordinated
cyberattack.” However, this writer is very suspicious of that claim, given the fact that they had already admitted that practically every
sector of the Internet (and not just T-Mobile) had outages or otherwise went down, earlier in the same news item: “According to outage
aggregator Downdetector, users reported outages in major mobile carriers (T-Mobile, Metro, Verizon,
AT&T, Sprint, Consumer Cellular, US Cellular), Internet providers (Spectrum, Comcast, CenturyLink, Cox), social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, Snapchat, Twitter), games and game services (Fortnite, Roblox, Call of Duty, Steam, Xbox Live, Playstation Network),
streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, HBO Now, Twitch), banks (Chase Bank, Bank of America), delivery services (Doordash), and other major platforms like
Google and Zoom.” Source: “T-Mobile, Fortnite, Instagram, Comcast, And Chase Bank Have All Experienced Outages. Some Believe The
U.S. Has Been Hit By Large-Scale DDoS Attack—Others Are Skeptical. (Updated),” Jesse Damiani, Consumer Tech, FORBES, June 15,
2020, 08:43pm EDT,
LINK *
Archive 1 *
Archive 2 *
Archive 3 * Therefore, it might be wise to revisit the
news item, below, asking lawmakers to “Harden the Grid”:
*
Science:(Updated: Mon.22 June 2020) UPDATE: The Solar
Flare / Harden the Grid scientific paper, which was:
Published at Academia.edu, has "prepper" information
(pp. 49-50 of 58) to prepare for COVID-19 Nat'l Emergency:
** PDF file format: Mirror 1 **
Mirror 2
** Webpage (*.html) format: Mirror 1 **
Mirror 2
** Microsoft Word (*.doc) format: Mirror 1 **
Mirror 2 **
*
Higher Education:(Fri.06 December 2019; UPDATED Mon.02 March 2020)U.S. Department of Education in the news:U.S. Department of
Education experiences lots of Instability, Turmoil of recent. -- The Washington Postrecently reported that “1 in 15 borrowers has considered
suicide because of student debt, survey says,” and why is there this new suicide phenomenon? Answers follow:
1. This past October, Forbes reported that
"Judge Threatens
Betsy DeVos With Jail In Student Loan Case," for failure to obey a court order for the DOE to stop collecting on student loans from 16,000 students who
went to the defunct Corinthian College, whose fraud made students eligible for a special discharge. (This is the same "Dept of Ed" that gave The
Register a "non-answer" to a recent press inquiry: (1) Does the DOE support lowering loan limits for student loans, and (2) does the DOE support the
student loan bankruptcy bill: While it's true that lawmakers & the DOJ also have jurisdiction, nothing stops the DOE from advocacy; this is clear cowardly
"bunting" with a "non-answer." Indeed, the secretary, in her
11-27-2018 speech (fair use cache) addressed loan limits. While we can't
blame the DOE staff employees, who replied to our press inquiry or wrote the
attached response, the DOE is a "do-nothing" weight upon taxpayers, and
needs to either shape up or ship out.)
2. Later that month, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump Education Official, Dr. A. Wayne Johnson, who was appointed by Education
Secretary Betsy DeVos, "said he would resign Thursday and endorse canceling most of the nation’s outstanding student debt,
calling
the student-loan system “fundamentally broken.”"
3. Then, in a strange turn of events, legendary Student Loan expert, Alan M. Collinge, who
is often featured on CBS and many other outlets just recently made a call
for readers of his large Facebook group to do a blitz on
President Trump [and] Please get this video to him to "drain the Student Loan swamp." Since this affects 44 Million Americans with collegiate loans,
and another 20-30 Million cosigners, family, & friends (see Nov. 24 news item, below), The Register shall grant his Free Speech request to make
his video go viral; we ask you to share this YouTube video or
this Facebook video.
4. Now that we've got the reader's attention, it's time to roll out a solution: Please note that my e-mails to my Congressman were kindly acknowledged
by his higher ed staffer, as well as a nationally-known Bankruptcy attorney, not to mention The Ledger, the local paper which published my most
recent column: (Web-page) RandomHigherEd-DIALOGUE-thread.html -or-
(PDF file) RandomHigherEd-DIALOGUE-thread.pdf. To that end, when we ask you to "call your
congressman," it's not a wasted effort, and here is helpful information so you'll know what to say:
*** *IMPORTANT: 5.Updated "Key" Higher-Ed news items *
A proposed press release I've supplied my congressman (which documents that the
interest alone on Higher ed spending interest increased $175,222,450.38 each day in recent decades)This is the bill which
Pres. Trump recently requested.
Of course, you will need to know the bill number for your Member of Congress or Senator:
S.1414 (Senate) and
H.R.2648 (House).
VERY IMPORTANT: Many 'Conservatives' oppose Student Loan Bankruptcy on the belief that this would somehow cost "taxpayer
dollars," but this is incorrect: Almost ALL Student Loans are *owned* (not guaranteed) by the Federal Government, which occurred
when "the federal
government effectively monopolized" Student Loans "in a little-known provision of the Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010," during the first
2 years of President Obama's administration, according to
INVESTOPEDIA:
“Who Actually Owns Student Loan Debt?,” by Sean Ross, INVESTOPEDIA, Updated Jul 30, 2019,
LINK(Fair Use cache) Thus, if EVERY student filed for bankruptcy, it
would cost almost NO tax dollars (we already bought said loans), but failure to reinstate & return bankruptcy to collegiate loans allows taxpayers
to continue to bleed to death, because bankruptcy (which would force lending DOWN) is not present, thus allowing continued waste of tax dollars to enrich
colleges, using students as a "conduit" for taxpayer-funded student loans: it is an obvious scam, harming taxpayers and students. This should be enough,
but if you need to see deeper research, you may download this 203-page,
7.83 MB *.PDF file, which includes three (3) bankruptcy attorneys' testimony before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, this past June, or, archived here:
Archive-1 **
Archive-2.
Now, if you're upset at the status quo, don't just "complain," but be a part of the solution: Call, write, email, visit, Facebook, or Tweet to your Senator
or Member of Congress.
The Register is Conservative, and we support H.Res.675 [116th Congress (2019-2020)], a Resolution expressing the view that Student Loan Forgiveness (or "Free College") are
antithetical to American foundational values of self-responsibility & opportunity. HOWEVER,
if Lawmakers could pass (263-171 in the House) the "Mortgage Bailout" (aka: "Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act of 2008") outright giving a "Liberal Free (Corporate)
Handout" of Seven-Hundred Billion ($700,000,000.oo) Dollars(not counting another $250 Billion and $350 Billion in Sec.115) to companies who made bad decisions, and still have a "Bankruptcy Safety Net," the
least they could do is return said safety net to student 'loans'. LIBERAL Lawmakers need to offer relief for taxes dressed up as loans to Student Loan
Borrowers, and besides this tax-cut for the middle-class, they need to enact the spending cuts that Trump requested, which would drive down student debt
and costs of college, as unlimited subsidies stopped "propping up" a Higher Ed Bubble (which looms larger than the 2008 Housing Bubble, as it lacks
Bankruptcy as a Free Market check on excessive taxing/spending).
Related: WHITEHOUSE Petition website
documented likely cheating petitioners(Wed.25 March 2020)
UPDATE: As of today's update (Wednesday, March 25, 2020), we've noticed 'funny business' with
the Whitehouse's petition website: Well-known student debt expert,
Alan M. Collinge, who is often
featured on CBS and many other outlets, made a
Petition on Whitehouse.gov. Created on March 16, 2020,
nine (9) days ago, it currently has only 613 signatures. By contrast,
Collinge's CHANGE.org petition got
94,023 signatures in about the same time. Furthermore, another recent
MoveOn.org petition by Natalia
Abrams, asking for Student Debt forgiveness, as a stimulus (in response to the COVID-19/Coronavirus economic downturn)
got 428,145 signatures, as of press time. Moreover, the legendary
"Million signature" petition, on MoveOn.org, by Rob Applebaum,
which has been online for a while, has 1,206,357 signatures, and climbing --well-over a Million
unique signatures. Even Abrams' ActionNetwork.org letter
campaign has "145,010 Letters Sent." All these campaigns (excepting the "Million
signature" petition) appear to be very recent petition or letter campaigns. Yet only one (1) of them -- Collinge's campaign -- are slamming petitions at
a screaming-fast rate. Lest one think that Collinge's supporters were weak, let us remind you that his petition
"got listed" on the official Whitehouse.gov website -- i.e., once it
gets 150 signatures (which it did in about one day's time), it gets posted publicly, and gets boatloads of "free advertising," where visitors (already
familiar with the easy-to-use Whitehouse petition site) are already viewing the page. Why Collinge's Whitehouse petition has only a few hundred signatures
is an anomaly, and a statistically very unlikely failure. Having this petition (with a VERY popular topic -- "Student Loan Forgiveness") posted in a
very highly-trafficked place (on Whitehouse.gov, with other popular petitions) get ignored would not be unlike having fresh meat placed in a cage of hungry
dogs, bears, and tigers -- and having said meat largely ignored. Now, focused on asking lawmakers to grant the Trump spending cuts request referenced in
other news, Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, has started THIS viral petition
on Change.org and THIS one
on MoveOn.org and even a letter campaign
via ActionNetwork.org HERE, (but giving up on
this failed Whitehouse petition), and has contacted the Whitehouse,
and his Member of Congress, Rep. Ross Spano (R-FL-15), seeking "help with a Federal Agency"
-- the Whitehouse, in this case.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to
the top of the page.
--Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief, & Health/Science Editor, The Register
(cache 1 *
cache 2) A.S. United Electronics Institute, Valedictorian; B.S. Biological &
Chemical Sciences, The Florida State University, double major with honours
*
DEVELOPING:(Sun.24 November 2019)AMERICA'S SICK HIGHER ED: An Area where Conservatives, Liberals, Blacks, Whites, & most others are now finding "broad
agreement," and now must 'Team Up' & Work Together
** My column published this past Tuesday, in The Ledger:
"Polk Perspective: Offer
relief for taxes dressed up as ’loans’," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 19, 2019;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache. Moreover, there is an active and
lively discussion
on FACEBOOK about this, in which we find support for fixing
this matter from both "Liberal" Democrats (who feel oppressed by the rich colleges/banks), as well as "Conservative" Republicans, like myself (who view
tuition as a 'tax' and see 'Constitutional' and 'Moral' problems with current U.S. Bankruptcy Code) -- not to mention the fact that almost ten (10%) of all
U.S. Debt is collegiate debt (which will crash the dollar if not stopped immediately).
Since the twin curses of unaffordable/skyrocketing college tuition and oppressive/unrepayable student debt hurts Black Americans disproportionately, we
expect that all Americans (Black, White, Red, Yellow, Brown, --and Liberal, Conservative, Libertarian, & Independent) to join forces to fight this new
and frankly dangerous Higher Education Bubble. PROOF: "Four years after
graduating college, black students owe nearly twice as much student debt as their white peers do and are three times more likely to default on those loans,
according to a new paper by the Brookings Institution." Source:
"Black College Grads Have Twice as Much Student Debt as Whites," by
Kerri Anne Renzulli, TIME, Oct 21, 2016.
Black Americans, who comprise roughly 12.1% of America's total population, are hit especially hard, but this actually hurts almost all Americans. CBS
recently reported that "A quarter of borrowers who take out student loans end up defaulting within five years...Nationwide, 26% of borrowers defaulted,
Pew said." Source: "1 in 4
Americans defaulted on their student loans, study finds," by Sarah Min, CBS News: MONEYWATCH, Nov 07, 2019.
However, the twenty-six (26%) percent 'default' rate (they default because bankruptcy is practically unavailable) is only for the first five (5) years:
Probably, the true default rate is over fifty (50%) percent, over the lifetime of the loan. And, recalling that college debt (almost $2 Trillion now) is
almost TEN (10%) PERCENT of U.S. Debt (which is slightly north of $20 Trillion, at the time of press): The Higher Ed bubble will probably be greater
than the 2007-2008 "Housing Bubble," because at least housing lenders' 'Predatory Lending was slowed down by borrowers' 'Bankruptcy' defense (which
we've nicknamed "The Economic Second Amendment"). Student borrowers, however, can almost never surpass the 'Undue Hardship' standard.
This is a developing story, and, while nothing is guaranteed, it seems very likely that many groups (NAACP, college Republicans, college Democrats, and
other politically-active groups) will form an unlikely -- but now very likely alliance. Note, please, that while many are calling for 'free'
college (and there are excellent arguments for that, not the least of which is that
America
did, in fact, have free college in many places in the recent past, when our Higher Education was the best in the world --and yet still affordable),
nonetheless, my series of columns do NOT call for 'free' college, 'Loan Forgiveness', or "Liberal Free Handouts," which suggests that our compromise
will work well --without compromising our shared values, as Americans.
If you, the reader, agree, then we ask you to contact your member of Congress. Mine (Editor, Gordon W. Watts) is
U.S. Rep. Ross Spano (R-FL-15), and Florida's two senators are
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL). Please call them during Mon.-Fri. business hours, ask to speak to their
"Higher Ed" staff, and ask for passage of both bills outlined in my recent Ledger column, linked (and archived) above; if you need the bill
number: "H.R.2648 - Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of 2019" and the Senate companion bill: "S.1414 - Student Borrower Bankruptcy Relief Act of
2019." The other bill does not (at time of press) have a bill number (is not enrolled), but make reference to this, and they will understand:
"Trump Proposes Limits On Student
Loan Borrowing," By Zack Friedman, FORBES, Tue. March 19, 2019, which (as I show elsewhere) will result in both lower tuition and also prevent
(or delay) a crash of the dollar. Lawmakers: What you've been doing for the past 20-30 years HAS NOT worked; how about trying it my way,
for once--or do you prefer to have a crash of the dollar and unaffordable tuition, both of which place national security at risk? ..not to
mention continued unnecessary oppression of Black Americans, many of whom are our neighbours, family, & friends? It's your move,
Lawmakers.
Be polite, but repeatedly persistent. If you're too lazy to even call and/or use the 'Contact form' on your lawmakers' webpage
(*this* is a 'Contact' form page), then 2 things: First, we WILL lose, and secondly,
we WILL DESERVE to lose. Both students and taxpayers are greatly hurt by greedy rich banks and overpaid
colleges. We don't ask for any 'free handout' -- just Justice. It's your move: the problem is not going to 'solve itself'.
P.S.: Knowing that I've shown tuition to be a form of tax (monies going to an arm of government: state colleges), many of my friends of faith
recall that the Judeo-Christian Holy Bible (accepted by Jews & Christians) lists excessive tax as a sin:
Times people were over-taxed—led to civil unrest in both cases, and thus TO BE AVOIDED.
1 Samuel 22:1-2 (King David—before he was King—got support from many over-taxed citizen)
Note, please, that King Rehoboam's insistence on continuing King Solomon's oppressive/excessive tax nearly resulted in CIVIL WAR, and is what "split
the kingdom" into the "Northern 10 tribes" and "Southern 2 tribes."
Moreover, most devout Muslims will recall that Surah 3:130, Surah 4:161, and even Surah al-Rum (The Romans) Quran 30:39 prohibit usury (excessive
interest), which is usually present in collegiate loans. See also Al-Baqarah (The Cow), Surah 2:275, THE NOBLE QUR'AN, which has an especially
harsh/eternal punishment for: “Those who consume interest cannot stand [on the Day of Resurrection] except as one stands who is being beaten by Satan into
insanity. That is because they say, "Trade is [just] like interest." But Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden interest. So whoever has received an
admonition from his Lord and desists may have what is past, and his affair rests with Allah . But whoever returns to [dealing in interest or usury] - those
are the companions of the Fire; they will abide eternally therein.”
DISCLAIMER: This writer (Gordon W. Watts) is a Christian, and accepts the following as canon: SOVEREIGN KING JESUS
“46
And
He said, “Woe
to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and
you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”
“3 Therefore
whatever they tell you to observe, that
observe
and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do
not do. 4
For
they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them
on
men’s shoulders; but they themselves
will
not move them with one of their fingers.”
[Luke 11:46; Matthew 23:3-4, NKJV, Words of Jesus in red] Commentary:
'Lawyers'
& others, such as Federal Lawmakers, who “load men with
burdens” (by passing laws stripping students' ability to obtain
bankruptcy for most college loans -and stripping 'Truth In Lending'
requirements to give borrowers fair 'Due Process' notice of this)
certainly violate the Golden Rule. Lawmakers are hypocrites: They
wouldn't accept this 'too hard to bear' 'burden' on their shoulders! And neither should you:
This bears repeating, so I shall -- CALL, WRITE, and E-MAIL said lawmakers:
Be polite, but repeatedly persistent. If you're too lazy to even call and/or use the 'Contact form' on your lawmakers' webpage
(*this* is a 'Contact' form page), then 2 things: First, we WILL lose, and secondly,
we WILL DESERVE to lose. Both students and taxpayers are greatly hurt by greedy rich banks and overpaid
colleges. We don't ask for any 'free handout' -- just Justice. It's your move: the problem is not going to 'solve itself'.
-Editor, Gordon W. Watts
*
BREAKING:(Mon.15 July 2019; UPDATED Sat.14 Sept. 2019)Lakeland (Fla.) Police have been "call-blocking" phones for decades: We've now learned they've even been blocking
911 calls if they "get annoyed" at callers.DOCUMENTED: Damning Proof *
NEW Update: Mayor gets involved--tests 911
-- Readers of The Register know us for delivering stories you won't find elsewhere, and this certainly qualifies as
"bizarre" even by the standards of the Lakeland Police Department, legendary for being in the news for infamous corruption. If you didn't get the note:
Google: Lakeland Florida Police Department
corruption *** Or Yahoo! them. Without
any further ado, here are links to this breaking news item: External Link (opens in new page)
Internal Link (drop-down to below)
(Fri. 14 Apr. 2017; UPDATED Sat. 05 May 2018: The ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT
has
granted
review of Watts' request for review in this matter. Click
here
for the 20.5 MB pdf file, a Court-Stamped copy. Or, click here and
see the "04/20/2018" entry in the LAW DIVISION docket (links at top--you must scroll down for 04/20/2018 entry). For full story, see link to
open-source docket, hosted by The Register and with
filings by Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, who has been granted Intervention in the Law Division case; from Staff Reports;
NEWS)
** LAKELAND, FL: Local Lakeland Attorney, John Hugh Shannon, and 4
passengers, perish in tragic airplane crash on Christmas Eve 2017* (Sun. 31 Dec. 2017)The
Register recently ran true, but very embarrassing, news coverage on
Atty. Shannon, back in 2014. (Permalinks: #1
* #2 *
#3 *
#4) However, while
the writer later learned who the actual guilty party was, he was unable to prove it, due to lack of witness cooperation, and the
investigation ran cold, rendering all attempts to clear Shannon's name futile. Nonetheless, when news of Shannon's death reached The Register, we
remembered our prior true, but embarrassing, news coverage, and, while not false, it was incomplete, and could cause pain and grief for the
remaining family. Therefore, in spite of numerous obstacles (loss of Internet, time needed to recover a lost GOP Primary debate video, transcode it to
MP4 & WMV, and then upload it via almost dialup speeds, with bad connectivity in replacement Internet, and general fatigue and overwork), the original
writer made a Herculean effort to update the story with newly-learned information, which mostly clears Shannon's name, as well as give updates on the
developments surrounding the plane crash that took his life, and the life of his 4 passengers, 3 of whom were family members. The original story -- with
all known current updates -- is published and available at the links above, along with commentary on the great increase in web traffic to The
Register's website, when readers from around the world began searching for updated & info about Mr. Shannon's death. In the mean time, we pray for
Aviation investigators to learn the cause of the crash, and we continue to pray for his remaining family & friends during this difficult time.
*
PLEASE QUICKLY sign
this Whitehouse
Petition to The President regarding H.R.2366. Why should you sign? See below for proof...
* “The CONSERVATIVE Case for College Loan Bankruptcy bill H.R.2366”
(Sun. 25 Feb. 2017) Yes, the 'Conservative' argument for BK protection is even stronger than the 'Liberal' argument, so we don't
know why the GOP supports these Constitutional rights more? Details:Video link with transcript & notes **
Deeper legal analysis **
Read this First (if you're new to this)**UPDATE** I just got word from
Alan M. Collinge (StudentLoanJustice.org webmaster) of
of this miracle: The U.S. Dept of Education
is seeking public comment on how they should treat
Student Loans in Bankruptcy. One commenter felt it was unfair to let students have BK protections when others had paid off their loans,
but The Register notes that, in the past, some slaves bought their own freedom, and yet, they did not begrudge or oppose the
freeing of the remaining slaves. Debt Slaverey is the new form of slavery, harming Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, and especially the poor, who
cannot obtain an Education, which is a threat to U.S. National Security --and to the economy, as the tax dollar is on the hook, and college
debt has surpassed credit card debt, at over 1.4 Trillion, e.g., $1,400,000,000,000.oo, with twelve (12) zero's before the decimal.
Click
*here* to see where to comment, and see the comments from Register editor, Gordon W. Watts. ~End-of-Update.
UPDATE:The Register has made key updates to the "Anti Virus" tips page, to help readers keep up-to-date
on fighting Computer Virii (Viruses). LINK
Also, in a letter to his congressman (*.html webpage -
8.5x11 PDF format -
Live FACEBOOK discussion), Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, suggested that we make sure the GOP replacement to the ACA
was not unaffordable, suggesting the county plan where he lives as a model that works, covers many people, and is affordable, as elucidated in our
Thr. 02 Mar. 2017 news item, below. Watts has previously contacted all his Federal Leaders (congressman, senators, and the Trump transition team) on
this issue, as documented in the Mon. 16 Jan. 2017 story, below, and, in other news, contacted the Dept of Education (see: Sat. 11 Feb. 2017 news coverage)
and gotten several responses, and a promise of a reply to our press inquiry.
Key HEALTHCARE "repeal & replace" Updates:
Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote on the GOP replacement to the ACA (ObamaCare), and it looks like it will be a
close vote, with Conservative Republicans opposing in on the grounds that it is unaffordable, and most or all Democrats, purportedly opposing on the
grounds that is does not cover enough Americans. The Register suggests to lawmakers on both sides that POLK Care (see comparison/contrast analyses
chart: *.html webpage ** PDF format) would
satisfy "Liberal Democrats" (insofar as it covers almost everybody, especially the working poor) and "Conservative Republicans" (as POLK Care is VERY
affordable). The only possible drawback is that the coverage may not be "complete," but it did cover this writer's cataract surgery, regular checkups, and
would have covered much more had it been needed. Most or all prescriptions are not covered, but as America is over-medicated, that is not a drawback.
Join the discussion, and contact your congressman/congresswoman to make your voice heard, lest we crash the U.S. Dollar with
'healthcare' that is unaffordable. For the record, Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, predicts that if Lawmakers do not stop using tax dollars to
make/guarantee predatory/toxic college loans, get out of unnecessary foreign 'conflict,' and get rid of "unaffordable" healthcare, the U.S. will crash the
U.S. Dollars, and it will only be a matter of 'when', not 'if': Only a matter of time.
*
*
NEWS(Tue.09 July 2019)News Alert: G & G Complete Auto Repair now does WINDOWS and GLASS --
Readers of The Register recall my father, Bobby Watts passed away. One of his first jobs was
with “Big Daddy” Don Garlits, the 'King of Drag Racing', and later on, he had the Bobby Watts Speed Shop & Auto/Engine Parts. But, for those looking for a
good mechanic, stay tuned:
My father was friends with Gordon Hicks (and named me after him). While both my father and Gordon Hicks have passed away, my good friend, Kenny Hicks, took
over his father’s business, G & G Complete Auto Repair, which does "Balancing, & Alignment" on tire & wheels -- as well as complete auto
repair. Click here for their business card, and
click here for a map with driving directions.
However, I've just learned that they now also do complete Windows & Glass replacement & installation. Many auto repair shops exist, and
many are good, but I don’t know all things, so I can’t speak on them. Anyhow, G & G, which is located at 1206 S. Collins St. in Plant City, FL, can be
reached at OFFICE: (813) 754-4050 or SALES: (813) 420-1211 for Auto Glass Solutions. (DISCLAIMER: Kenny Hicks, the owner, is a friend, and I am biased in
this regard, but, I'm not intentionally inaccurate -- and, to make his day, please mention that you heard this from me.)
*
PREVIEW(Sun.23 June 2019)Letter to The President: Part II --
Readers of The Register recall my
1-page letter (8½x14) to Pres. Trump, which a
friend of his had asked me to write, and I included Supporting
docs (8½x11) [file was updated recently]. It was signed for and received via both U.S. Postal and
by UPS. Word on the street has it that it was reviewed by the president's chief of staff, which
seems especially likely given the Trump administration's continued push to reign in spending (which was one of my two main issues, excess taxation
being the other one). There were new developments (see below), and we also know that three (3) key problems weren't solved, prompting a follow-up:
We're spending more than we make, and will crash the dollar, if the President doesn't convince lawmakers to go along with his spending cuts
(as I've previously discussed).
Skyrocketing tuition.
Requisite crushing collegiate debt.
For those who want a "preview" of what I plan to write (to both Pres. Trump, my lawmakers, and probably local news media) as a "Part: II"
follow-up, here's the banner image I plan to use, and
** here ** are "updated" Supporting docs (8½x11) [file was updated recently],
a 7.83 MB file in PDF format (but be careful when printing them out: While they're all 8½x11, some of them are landscape, with most of them being
portrait, meaning you may have to adjust your printer settings for some pages). "Editor's choice": A VERY GOOD
READ! ~Editor
*
UPDATE(Sat.18 May 2019)H.R. 770 vs. H.R.2648? --
Readers of The Register recall we advocated H.R.770 as a Conservative Free Market check on predatory lending in higher ed loans, but just this
past week, both S.1414 and its companion bill,
H.R.2648 were introduced, apparently to cure a
Constitutional flaw in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, striking section (8) of 11 USC § 523(a), in order to make it comply with the U.S. Constitution,
specifically, Art.I, Sec.8., Cl.4, the legendary "Uniformity Clause," and a special type of Equal Protection. However, readers probably wonder why
S.1414 is needed if
H.R.770 did the same thing. If you look closely at the text, however, you'll see the only difference in the bills is
that S.1414 (and its companion bill, H.R.2648) merely strike section (8) but don't "bump up" the numbering, to make the numbering contiguous. Thus,
the updated version, H.R.2648 and S.1414, merely leave a "blank" spot where (8) was, skipping from (7) to (9).
Thus, readers can be assured that the "updates" are not politically-motivated to dilute U.S. Rep. John Katko's (R-NY-24th) original bill, H.R.770,
and thus The Register endorses the new bills. Note: The text of the bills aren't out as of publication date, but the generic bill was obtained
from Sen. Elizabeth Warren's site:
(
Press Release and The Bill)
See below, for my letter to The President, which I wrote him, after one of his friends suggested to me that I should. It explains this bill.~Editor
*
BREAKING(Tue.07 May 2019)Letter to The President --
After one of Pres. Trump's friends suggested I send him a postal letter, about the Higher Ed matter below, I took him/her{*} up on the
offer:1-page letter (8½x14) with references/supporters,
4-pages total, with Supporting docs (8½x11) [file was updated recently].
I sent 2 copies by U.S. Postal & another 2 copies
by UPS. As you can see, both letters (which were sent on Wed. 24 April 2019) were received & signed
for by the same person, the following Monday (29 April 2019), at the front desk, for incoming Whitehouse mail. Since I had good references, and
helpful tips for Pres. Trump on getting his bill passed (and since I took my friend's advice, and made sure my letter was indeed 1-page in
size), I'm sure that his staff have reviewed my mail, and apprised him of it. {*} With slight 'redaction' out of professional courtesy.
*
FROM THE EDITOR(Fri.22 Mar.2019; upated: Sun.24 Nov.2019) -- Is Pres.
Trump also copying/plagiarising me? *(But this might be a good
thing) [Editor's note: Yes, I did e-mail
lawmakers, their staff, press, news media, paparazzi, friends, enemies, strangers, etc.] UPDATE:Robert J. More, one of my readers
(mirror-1 **
mirror-2 **
YouTube), wrote me seeking answers, on my support for Bankruptcy
Uniformity (Equality) as required by
Art.I, Sec.8,
Cl.4, of the U.S. Constitution,
and requesting that I post my answers to his questions as front-page news.
His questions are good, and representative of other readers' questions, so I GRANT HIS
PETITION.~Editor * Everyone recalls how I have -for years- been calling on Congress to impose "loan limits" on use of taxpayer dollars to
make or guarantee college loans:
("A Polk Perspective: Fix
our bankrupt policy on student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, August 04, 2016;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache) **and**
("Polk Perspective:
Rescue taxpayers from mounting student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 16, 2018;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache) **and AGAIN**
("Polk Perspective: Offer
relief for taxes dressed up as ’loans’," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 19, 2019;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache). No one listened to "little Gordon"
when I sounded the "warning cry" about the dangerous bubble that is threatening to crash the dollar -and drive up college tuition, at the same time.
(After all, listeners/readers, and Rich-&-Powerful 'Big' Lawmakers likely reasoned: Who is this 'Gordon' character? Just a 'small' person, and we're
prejudiced against 'small' people of all colours, so let's just ignore him.) However, not long after I documented the Dept of Ed plagiarising/copying
my columns on three (3) points (see news item below), President Trump apparently heard my cry for help, and is *also* copying me (or maybe
it's a coincidence?) - The President is now (finally) on board with my "loan-limits" proposal:
"Trump administration wants to put a limit on
student loan borrowing," By Katie Lobosco CNN, Tue. March 19, 2019;
"White House eyes new
borrowing limits for students," By Robin Meade (via Morning Express)CNN, Tue., March 19, 2019;
"Trump Proposes Limits On Student
Loan Borrowing," By Zack Friedman, FORBES, Tue. March 19, 2019;
"PROPOSALS TO REFORM THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT," From
The Whitehouse The , MARCH 2019) Even Ivanka Trump, The President's daughter, and policy-advisor, is now on board, and is quoted in numerous
recent news stories to that effect: “We need to modernize our higher-education system to make it more affordable, flexible and outcomes-oriented, so all
Americans, young and old, can learn the skills they need to secure and retain good-paying jobs,” Ivanka Trump is quoted as saying in
MarketWatch,
Bloomberg, and
UPI. While probably half of my
readers hate Mr. Trump (for being Conservative, a bit crazy, or rich), and while I'm a bit disappointed in him (for being a bit slow to come
on board with this fiscally-Conservative spending-reduction measure), I congratulate The President --and thank him-- for coming on board--finally, and
coming out of the closet as a true Conservative, in support of
The Bill Bennett Hypothosis(Fair Use
Cache Here).
However, we can't rest on our laurels yet: The job is not finished, and, as proven in my columns (in The Ledger and elsewhere),
spending cuts are "half" of the solution (the 'taxing' part being the other half). And, now that I have the attention of Lawmakers, readers, and
the Dept. of Ed., I will REPEAT my solution to the spending excesses: FEDERAL LAWMAKERS, please file
this proposed bill, which takes the HEA (Higher Education Act) Bill, in question, and
reverses a few numbers around to start reducing loan limits. (Higher Ed staff, of Senators & Members of Congress: Please understand that the language
in this proposed bill is valid, and can be filed with no trouble, since it uses the exact language of the HEA bill, except that it reverses the loan
limits "dollar amounts.") As proven beyond a shadow of doubt, in my columns, cited above, and below, Lawmakers also need to address the "taxing" half,
as well, tuition being a form of tax, as it's funding going to an arm of government, state gov't college, here, and therefore
pass H.R.770 from
the current session (track the bill here). The PRESIDENT is
on board with one of my 2 proposals (and will likely be on board with the other, in time), and, indeed:
Many other Conservatives -besides Pres. Trump -support student loan bankruptcy equality:
Conservatives, such as Ike Brannon of the Cato Institute and
New York Timescolumnist
David Brooks have publicly called for the return of bankruptcy to collegiate loans. Even
Jeb Bush
included this in his platform when he ran for president. And, of course, I (Gordon Wayne Watts) am a far-right Conservative: I'm 'the'
guy who almost won the Terri Schiavo case all by myself, and am a fiscal, moral, and Constitutional Conservative, remember? (-or can be found by
a cursory Google search or review of my blogs). Moreover,National Review, founded by well-known
Conservative, William F. Buckley Jr., is calling for
allowing student loans to be dischargeable in bankruptcy, as is
Frank H. Buckley, a Foundation Professor at Conservative Antonin Scalia Law School of Law at George Mason University
and author of “The Republican Workers Party: How the Trump Victory Drove Everyone Crazy, and Why It Was Just What We Needed.”
Furthermore, Both
Bloomberg and
USA Today(both of which are rated with a media bias rating of 'Center':
Bloomberg **
USA Today) are also calling for bankruptcy equality to be
returned to student loans. Lastly: Well-known Libertarian-Conservative, Dr. Ron Paul supports
bankruptcy for ALL U.S. Debt
(not just college debt), as well as an
end to ALL U.S.-taxpater-backed student
loans (and not merely a reduction on loan limits), the latter in support for Pres. Trump's call for lowering loan-limits, and then some, and the former
in support of Rep. John Katko's (R-NY-24th) bill, H.R.770, and then some. (Oh, and Rep. Katko is also a
Conservative Republican,
and a
former Federal Prosecutor.)
Likewise, liberals like Robert Reich, Thom Hartmann, & many others have called for this
much-needed repair to fix a broken system. Indeed, the
Democratic Party made return of bankruptcy a plank in their party platform in Philadelphia, recently.
My late father (Bobby Watts) once told me that if I was trying to fight a problem that was too big for me, to NOT "go it alone," but rather, ask
for help from others to add their voice to mine. Indeed, I have the support of many other Conservatives (and most "Liberals") for the
collegiate loan bankruptcy equality bill, H.R.770, and I have the support of almost allother "Conservatives" (incl. Pres. Trump)
on the collegiate loan limits bill. Our voice is many, and The Truth is behind us. As a Christian, I will add that I feel God is on our side,
as documented here and elsewhere.
To quote
U.S.
Sec. of Education, Betsy DeVos, "There's a fitting metaphor that comes to mind. When a thunderstorm looms on the horizon, pilots have a couple of
choices to make. They can either adjust their flight path ten degrees when they are a long distance away from the storm. [] Or they can stay on their
original course and then be forced to make a jarring and abrupt turn when they fly right up to the bad weather. We face that same decision here."
So, I ask Lawmakers: Are you for us, or are you you against us?
It's your move, Lawmakers. Yes, H.R.770 is politically "difficult," but besides the Constitutional flaws it cures in current U.S. bankruptcy code, if both
the "loan limits" bill above, and H.R.770, here, aren't passed, I solemnly predict that we WILL crash the dollar, and document said prediction in
my columns, this blog post, end elsewhere.
(Wed.06 Feb.2019) (UPDATED: Wed. 06 Mar.2019) Everyone remembers my prior column
("A Polk
Perspective: Fix our bankrupt policy on student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, August 04, 2016;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache), where I took my good friend,
former Congressman Dennis Ross, to task for non-performance as a lawmaker. However, in a subsequent column, I followed-up with a scary prediction that the
U.S. Dollar will crash if I continue to be ignored -and, I backup said prediction with
hard facts & documented sources, such as:
("Polk Perspective:
Rescue taxpayers from mounting student debt," By Gordon Wayne Watts, Guest columnist, The Ledger, November 16, 2018;
FAIR USE *.pdf cache) It seems, however, that my
cries for sanity did not go unheeded:
In a speech on 11-27-2018, just 11 days after my 11-16-2018 column published,
("Prepared Remarks by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to Federal Student Aid’s Training Conference," By Hon. Betsy DeVos, U.S.
Sec. of Education, U.S. Dept. of Ed, November 27, 2018; FAIR USE *.pdf cache),
DeVos echoed three (3) points I had made (and it's good that her mere copying my ideas isn't a copyright or plagiarism violation), but without fanfare,
here is proof that I was right in my scary predictions:
(#1) First, she warns us that "Today, FSA's [college debt] portfolio is nearly 10 percent of our nation's debt," referring to use of our tax dollars
to make and/or back (guarantee) collegiate/student loans. But I had made an identical warning in my 11-16-18 column when I said: "Collegiate debt, now
almost $2 trillion, is almost 10 percent of total U.S. debt. I predict we will crash the U.S. dollar if we ignore “crazy Gordon” one more time."
(#2) Next, when DeVos complains (and rightly so) that "Tuition, fees, room and board have grown at twice the rate of inflation and almost two and a half times
median income," she goes on to clarify: "It has something to do with what one of my predecessors famously pointed out decades ago. When the federal
government loans more taxpayer money, schools raise their rates." So, to whom was she referring? Anyone with half a brain on higher ed history will
recognise the infamous "Bill Bennett's hypothesis," which I discussed in my 8-4-16 column, where I said: "When colleges and universities knew students
could take out “deep pockets” loans, they jacked up tuition in response to the additional money available, thereby fueling tuition inflation and proving
former Education Secretary Bill Bennett's hypothesis: When you subsidize anything, price goes up."
Since I referenced my 2016 column in my 2018 follow-up, it's no stretch to see her looking up my older column, after copy-catting my "10%" prediction/warning.
(#3) Lastly, DeVos makes this unusually candid admission on the limits of her powers: "As Secretary, I can move on a few, small tactical measures...But,
ultimately, no one person or group can make a dent on this higher ed crisis without an honest conversation about real
solutions."(Emphasis added for clarity; see below; bold and underline not in original) What is so odd about this statement is not just
its candid humility in admission of limits on authority (or an humble request for help from us), but moreso it is basically exactly and precisely
what I repeatedly told her Press Officers repeatedly, when I sought an official statement on my views that she needed to pressure lawmakers to
pass bills such as H.R.770 from
the current session (track the bill here) and/orthis proposed bill. I repeatedly assured her press corps that I understood (and sympathised
with) the limitations on her authority, and understood that she could not change law, but asked her to use her "Bully
Pulpit" to advocate these two (2) proposed bills here--and, oddly-enough, she parrots & copies this point in her
speech. Here's an email to her press officers that proves & documents that claim, where I said (bottom of
page 5 to top of page 6) the same thing: "CONCLUSION: DeVos is [limited in authority and thus] unable to pass law on the four (4) points I raised (Federal
law regarding public ed, higher ed, and states' rights issues regarding gun laws), but (A) she may have regulatory powers in some regard; (B) she
certainly has the bully pulpit to speak out more loudly than either of us, combined; and, most importantly, (C) you and she have the ear not just
Lawmakers, but also the President, who has a bigger bully pulpit to address these issues."
So far, I have documented that continued use of tax dollars to make or back (guarantee) collegiate loans WILL crash the dollar, and also 11 USC § 523(a)(8),
the Federal Law which denies college loans "standard" bankruptcy protection (like all other debts) violated The U.S. Constitution's "Uniformity Clause,"
Art.I, Sec.8, Cl.4., a special type of Equal Protection. PROOF:
(mirror 1) **
(mirror 2) THESE ALONE
are sufficient to justify repealing this bad law, but moreover, it is inherently unfair: Everybody gets to push a “reset button” on all kinds of frivolous
spending except collegiate debt! GM can get corporate welfare, Wall Street can crash the economy & get bailed out for waste, fraud, & abuse; and,
corporations can file Bankruptcy for trillions. Even GAMBLING losses can get BK discharge: but no “safety net” for students, eh? PRESIDENT TRUMP can get
bankruptcy discharge for Millions- repeatedly. But not college students? Besides being an immoral standard (that goes against all major religions), it makes
people hate lawmakers and government. Back when student loans were treated the same as all other loans in bankruptcy court, only about 0.3% were discharged
in bankruptcy. (Because college was affordable, remember? No one even NEEDED a "student loan." But when Liberals made "student loans" available on the tax
dollars, colleges jacked up tuition to match increased borrowing abilities, creating a Higher Education Bubble -- which WILL burst if we don't stop insane
spending of tax$$ on making/backing college loans.)
"By 1977 only .3% of student loans had been discharged in bankruptcy."
LINK **
"Debunking the first premise is the fact that by 1977, under 0.3% of the value of all federally guaranteed student loans had been discharged in
bankruptcy...(See H.R. REP. NO. 95-595, at 148 (1977).)"
Harvard Law Review *
(cached copy)
No one wants to file for bankruptcy, but not having that threat has caused the lending system to become
predatory and hyperinflationary. (Think of bankruptcy as the Economic 2nd Amendment --student borrower defense against Predatory Lending and insane tuition
inflation.) The US student loan system is the most dangerous big-government lending racket we have ever seen in this country. Where are my "Conservative"
peeps and hommies who claim to oppose this insane taxing/spending scheme? This also hurts Black Americans disproportionately: "Four years after
graduating college, black students owe nearly twice as much student debt as their white peers do and are three times more likely to default on those loans,
according to a new paper by the Brookings Institution." Source:
"Black College Grads Have Twice as Much Student Debt as Whites," by
Kerri Anne Renzulli, TIME, Oct 21, 2016.
The 'honest conversation about real solutions':
***DeVos complains (and rightly so) and claims to seek 'real' solutions, but DOES NOT propose any solution; I, however, do. So, what 'real' solutions
do I propose? ANSWER: H.R.770 and my 'proposed' bill (both linked above) --and, I would recommend you read my friend's column, first, even before
mine: "Why College Prices Keep Rising," By Alan Michael Collinge, Special to The Register | September 16, 2012, originally
published at FORBES, on Mar 19,
2012 @ 06:43 AM, and then print out both of my columns, Alan's column, DeVos' speech, and then persistently lobby lawmakers (senators and members of
congress in the House of Representatives) -- and your local news media -- to pass into law my 2 proposed bills. Ignore me one more time, will you? See
again my scary prediction --and said "10%" claim backed up by the Sec. of Ed., no less.
(Fri.08 Feb. 2019) UPDATE on Healthcare & IMMIGRATION solutions You recall my
Healthcare chart from earlier; however, I will shorten my analyses, to make it
"short & sweet" and get right to the
point: The 'PolkCare' plan is better than
the ACA (Affordable Care Act aka ObamaCare) on three (3) fronts: (a) PolkCare is affordable, coasting taxpayers only a 1/2-cent sale tax;
(b) it covers ANYONE making less than $990.oo/month; and, (c) It covers us WELL (paying for my cataract surgery and regular checkups). So,
why is Polk County, FLORIDA'S indigent care so affordable, even with all this great coverage? It appears to me & several others who discussed
this that this county plan got rid of the "insurance" middle-man, saving loads, where tax dollars go straight to the doctor or hospital.
THEREFORE, if Federal lawmakers want to copy what works, here it is: LAWMAKERS, if you insist on "Universal Healthcare," copy what works: Copy the
PolkCare plan, the Polk County, FLORIDA indigent healthcare plan, which WORKS. Don't reinvent the wheel: use PolkCare as your model, ok? (Or,
better yet, give subsidies, tax credits, and/or Federal Grants to cities, counties, & states that do provide such
coverage.) IMMIGRATION: And, since we have a stalemate on Immigration, I would suggest this:
Republicans who want to fund a physical border (wall, fence, whatever you want to call it), offer to give Democrats some things they want (such as
stronger enforcement powers on eVerify, which would prevent businesses from hiring illegal immigrants, and thus remove the motive to cross into our
country illegally), as well as surveillance, drones, more border guards. Democrats supported funding for fences and walls in the past, and if Speaker
Nancy Pelosi opposes it now, she's a flip-flopper who needs to be voted out as speaker. (But I also hold the GOP accountable: They held House, Senate,
and oval office twice in recent times, once in George W. Bush's first 2 years, and again in President Trump's 1st two years, so I demand hard answers as
to why the GOP was also a flip-flopping failure, who talked a good game, but did not finish the fence when they held complete power twice in recent
years.) We should stop arguing, and start securing our border, lest illegal immigrants work for less than minimum wage, thus putting themselves in
danger (no workman's comp) and hurting American workers (by driving wages down). ILLEGALS disrespect the legal immigrants who follow the rules, by
jumping in front of them. CONCLUSION: You know why you can go to a zoo and be safe? ANSWER: Because walls work! Speaker Pelosi has a wall on HER house,
and so she should get in line with our border, or else risk getting voted out as speaker.
However, before pointing my finger at Speaker Pelosi, I should admit that my many Democrat friends have told me that a "wall" would only cure the
symptom, but not the problem, namely the economic incentives that are the "causes" motivating illegal immigrants to risk their life to come here, so
without further ado, what are those causes?
According to Judith Gans, Immigration Policy Program Manager, at The University of Arizona (where there's a lot of illegal immigration to study), there
are three (3) main causes for Illegal (or unauthorized) Immigrants entering the United States:
(1) global economic change;
(2) the inadequacy of channels for legal economic migration; and,
(3) ineffective employer sanctions for hiring illegal immigrants.
(4) And, I will add to this, also: Economic & Political unrest (e.g., Overpopulation, Poverty, Crime, Wars, Asylum), and Family reunification.
(5) I add this 'special' case of LEGAL Immigrants over-staying their VISA's (work or education VISA's come to mind).
Before I suggest a solution, let us remember that Illegal Immigration hurts not only the United States (driving down wages, lack of documentation for the
few criminals that enter illegally), but also harms the immigrants, themselves, who are often forced to work "under the table" for less than minimum
wage, Workplace Injury WITHOUT Workman's Comp, WITHOUT ability to file taxes & get I.R.S. tax refund, as well as Prostitution, Slavery, Kidnapping &
ransoms, Lack of access to common social services (public health systems, proper housing, education, & banks), and uncertain housing with looming threat
of deportation, as well as Death or Injury from long & risky treks in the hot, dry desert! [There is controversy as to whether "net economic" impact of
immigrants (legal & illegal) is positive or negative, since illegal immigrants getting paid less than minimum wage benefits employers, and meets a labor
need for oft-times difficult jobs, but also costs local government much in the way of healthcare, public education, and sometimes higher education. But,
since it would be unethical to justify illegal immigration (a crime) for a fiscal gain, this matter will be ignored as a matter of honour and integrity.]
Now that I've established that Illegal Immigration is harmful to all parties (including the United States, which is getting quite full, and can't even take
proper care of its own citizens), what solutions can we offer?
(#1) Global Economic Change (changing global labour markets), and (#4) (Economic & Political unrest) are more-or-less out of our control, so we can safely
ignore them.
(#2) While we must protect our border, it is a fact that we need to reform LEGAL Immigration, to make it easier to qualified candidates to become
citizens (or, participants in a fair "part time workers" program), but only on a limited basis, as we can't take in every immigrant.
(#3) The U.S. law PROHIBITS employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, but the lack of enforcement or penalties means that employers have no
motives to verify falsified or fraudulent identification documents used when hiring. THIS IS THE MAIN MOTIVE FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, and,
as my many Democrat friends tell me, if we "put teeth" into enforcing the eVerify law, we will PREVENT motives for illegal immigration - problem solved.
(#5) Over-staying of VISA's? A "fence" or a "wall" or a "border wall" WON'T fix this problem, because once hired, they are here to stay. So, refer
back to #3 above: We need to require workers to have proper documentation, WITH STRONG PENALTIES for employers who don't require acceptable identification
with PROPER VERIFICATION that is it not fraudulent or falsified. TRANSLATION: We need to put "teeth" into eVerify already.
--SOLUTIONS -- So, to summarise and IN CONCLUSION:
1. We DO need a fence, border wall, or physical barrier in some places (which Border Agents & security experts tell us is VERY effective)
2. But we also need drones, surveillance, and other "technology," where appropriate.
3. We do need more border guards --which will cost taxpayers, meaning we should spend less on other nonessential stuff like "endless wars" or "useless"
funding TRILLIONS to college loans, which has proved to be a disaster, resulted in higher tuition, when colleges jack up prices to match increased
borrowing abilities of students. (Back before taxpayers funded college loans, college was affordable and the best in the world, so this is one place
we can cut costs.)
4. We need to reform LEGAL IMMIGRATION to make it easier for qualified persons to apply for citizenship, and/or "part-time worker"
programs... (In this category of "legal" immigration, we might include modest DACA extensions, but only if with the condition that we continue to
fund, build, and finish both the border wall and also necessary measures like strong eVerify enforcement.)
5. while at the same time putting "teeth" into enforcement of eVerify employment laws, making it HARDER for unqualified persons to flout and
break the law.
6. We need the "political will" to STOP PLACATING, BABYING, & PROTECTING rich businesses who use "legal" campaign contributions to "buy off"
Federal Lawmakers, who would, otherwise pass strong laws and/or insist on enforcement of current laws.
We need TEAMWORK where both GOP and Democrats get some things that they want, such as a modest extension for DACA recipients (illegal immigrants who came
to the USA as children, through no fault of their own). #TeamWork I urge Democrats and Republicans to work together, and offer each other some things the
"other side" wants, lest we incur civil unrest, anger, & discontent. GET THE JOB DONE, LAWMAKERS.
(Wed. 08 Mar. 2017, UPDATES; NEWS)Updates to websiteUPDATE:The Register has made minor updates to the Alternative News Media 'Blogroll,' in the right-hand
column, adding, among other things, evangelical Christian author, Bible prophecy expert, journalist, & commentator,
Erika Grey, a recent guest on
Coast to Coast: AM. Grey has a
Wikipedia entry and an
AMAZON author page, and she was recently cited in
The Christian
Post's article, "Is Donald Trump 'the Last Trump' Before Jesus Christ's Return?" (by Stoyan Zaimov, Christian Post Reporter: Jan 30,
2017).
(Thr. 02 Mar. 2017, EDUCATION; NEWS; COMMENTARY; POLITICS)
UPDATE: Dept. of Education responds to email:UPDATE: U.S. Department of Education acknowledges email (misspells names, as proof it's not 'auto-reply')
* *html WebPage format *
PDF format * This email to DOE gives in-depth analysis, with solutions, to the many complex
problems facing U.S. Higher Education and addresses some Public Education issues, explaining how 'vouchers' in Public Ed compare/contrast with FEDERAL
'Pell Grants' in Higher Ed. However, not having heard back from the DOE since we contacted them last month, The Register resent our Press
Inquiry, with more precise and specific questions: *.html WebPage format **
PDF format -- eventually replying
by e-mail with
this reply to my press inquiry. Please note that the Dept of Ed gave me a "non-answer"
to my valid questions: (1) Does the DOE support lowering loan limits for student loans, and (2) does the DOE support the student loan bankruptcy bill: While
it's true that lawmakers and the Dept of Justice have jurisdiction, there is nothing stopping the Dept of Education from advocacy, and this is clearly
cowardly "bunting" with a "non-answer." Indeed, the secretary in her
11-27-2018 speech (fair use cache) addressed loan limits. While I can't
blame these DOE staff employees, whoe reply to my email or wrote the attached response, the DOE is a "do-nothing" weight upon taxpayers, and needs to
either shape up or ship out.
*
(Thr. 02 Mar. 2017, HEALTHCARE; NEWS; COMMENTARY; POLITICS)
UPDATE: In-depth analysis of HealthCare debate:UPDATE: In-depth analysis to support the suggestion to use 'Polk Care' as model for replacement:
(*html WebPage format ** PDF format)
Compares/Contrasts 'RomneyCare' (2006 Massachusetts law named after former Gov. Mitt Romney), "ObamaCare" (the Affordable Healthcare Act), POLK County,
Fla indigent healthcare; and: Japan's socialised healthcare, with personal testimony about Socialised (Universal) Healthcare in Canada & Australia.
[In-depth]
Another Whitehouse Petition You Should Read Concerning Student
Loans & Bankruptcy
Posted: Wed. 22 Feb. 2017 (EDUCATION; NEWS; WHITEHOUSE) by Gordon W. Watts
Hat tip to Alan Collinge for
this
Whitehouse petition that only needs a few more people to sign to push it over the edge (past the 150-signature minimum) & get listed on the Whitehouse
website. (And to Steve Rhode, the famous
GetOutOfDebt.org Guy, for
his assistance in getting out the word.)
This petition challenges the Unconstitutional 11 USC § 523(a)(8), the U.S. Federal Law which prohibits Student Loans from ever being discharged unless the
debtor can overcome the next-to-impossible "undue hardship" standard, which is far higher a standard than even unsecured Credit Card debts that might be
racked up by gamblers, criminals, or worse. *** College students & “Blue-state Liberals,” as one might expect, might be
interested. *** BUT: Fellow-Republicans & “Red-state Conservatives” should *also* be concerned with how the Liberals have
destroyed higher ed in this regard while trampling the Constitution! *** My friend's petition is at:
https://Petitions.Whitehouse.gov/petition/level-playing-field-and-return-standard-bankruptcy-protections-all-student-loans
Section 523(a)(8) of U.S. Code is unconstitutional because it creates “non-uniform” bankruptcy law, running afoul of Art. I, Sec. 8, Cl. 4 of the U.S.
Constitution. PROOF:
(mirror 1) -
(mirror 2)
It also runs afoul of other constitutional provisions, but too long to enumerate. If you're a liberal or College Student, you need to sign to stand up for
the little man. If you're a Conservative (like myself), you need to sign to defend the U.S. Constitution, here. (No, we're not asking for a Liberal Free
Handout, just fair treatment under the Constitution. Very easy to sign.
“Just
do it!” *CLICK HERE
Petition to the WHITEHOUSE: Student Loan
Debt
Posted: Sun. 19 Feb. 2017 (EDUCATION; NEWS; WHITEHOUSE) by Gordon W. Watts
* NOTE: Once Mr. Clavito gets 150 signatures, his petition will become publicly
searchable on the WHITEHOUSE's "We the People" petition website; and furthermore, if he can get 100,000 signatures in 30 days (not hard if you go
public early on), then the Whitehouse will review his petition, make sure it gets in
front of the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response. So, The Register respectfully asks you to sign Clavito's petition so that
the laws of the land give Equal Protection to all citizens, not just a few rich bankers, who constantly get bailed out, go bankrupt, and then get bailed
out some more.
* BACK   STORY: Mr. Clavito's petition seeks to repeal 11 USC § 523(a)(8), U.S. Federal Law which prohibits student loans from ever being
discharged unless the debtor can overcome the next-to-impossible "undue hardship" standard, which is far higher a standard than even unsecured Credit Card
debts that might be racked up by gamblers, criminals, or worse. Clavito is seeking bankruptcy and bringing a legal challenge against this law
in Federal Court, in the Southern District of California,
acting as his own lawyer in Clavito v. Dept of Ed/Navient,
U.S.Dept Of Ed (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of California (San Diego), Lead BK case number: 3:16-bk-01362 In the Sun.
14 Feb. 2016, last year, The Register reported that Editor, Gordon W. Watts,
has previously litigated this
exact issue (except that Watts was challenging only the law, not his outstanding debt). This was after
Watts made a petition as described more fully in
the Mon. 12-26-2011 news item. In spite of a valiant effort, with lots of monies spend on ads & flyers,
Watts only got 444 signatures before
his petition expired. Nonetheless, Watts made
a compelling case that the law in question
was unconstitutional on a number of grounds. Now,
with so many victims of Predatory Lending, illegal monopoly, and, of course, taxpayers on the hook for having used tax dollars to make or back these
toxic loans (that should have never been made in the first place, and probably not authorised by The Constitution), it is high time for you to
sign Clavito's petition before the 30-day time-limit
expires. His petition apparently has passed the 150-signature limit within just a few days, and is in "Prime Time" viewing on the Whitehouse website,
so jump on the bandwagon now, or forever hold your peace:
Sign Here.
(Sat. 11 Feb. 2017; UPDATED: Sun. 12 Mar. 2017, EDUCATION; NEWS; COMMENTARY; POLITICS)
Open Letter to U.S. Sec. of Education, Betsy DeVos
Open letter (but also directly mailed)
*html WebPage format *
PDF format *
Weigh in on Facebook *
Weigh in on Twitter * Interesting read, or so the Dept. of Ed.
thought, as they visited The Register's website shortly after this email. ** Register editor, Gordon W. Watts, a DeVos-supporter, has
both good and bad things to say, and sends his feedback with the hopes of encouraging & helping DeVos and the U.S. Department of Education regarding both
Public Education and Higher Education challenges facing the nation. *
UPDATE:
I, the writer, overlooked mention of how College Debt, Tuition, defaults, etc., impacts Blacks at 2-3 times the average rate in
U.S. Higher Ed. ~ It was negligent of me to overlook the huge problems facing African Americans, and, to that end, I submitted an Errata to the Sec. DeVos
& the DOE (*html WebPage format * PDF
format) and the DOE Press Office (*html WebPage format *
PDF format) in my official capacity as a writer. My sincere apologies. ~Gordon W. Watts,
Editor-in-Chief, The Register * UPDATE: Dept. of Education responds
to email: U.S. Department of Education acknowledges email (misspells names, as proof it's not 'auto-reply')
* *html WebPage format * PDF
format * This email to DOE gives in-depth analysis, with solutions, to the many complex problems facing U.S. Higher Education and addresses some Public
Education issues, explaining how 'vouchers' in Public Ed compare/contrast with FEDERAL 'Pell Grants' in Higher Ed. 2nd UPDATE:
Having not heard back from the DOE since we contacted them last month, The Register resent our Press Inquiry, with more precise and specific
questions: *.html WebPage format **
PDF format
(Tue. 24 Jan. 2017, NEWS; POLITICS; COURTS)
William Pryor, possible Trump appointee for SCOTUS, not 100% pro-life,
voted to kill Terri Schiavo
Possible Trump-appointee for the U.S. Supreme Court, William
Pryor, has been investigated and found wanting in one key pro-life vote. Read the email exchange between
pro-life advocate, Robert J. More and Register editor, Gordon W. Watts:
CLICK HERE to view email. Mr. More has demanded, instead, that Mr. Trump appoint either former Alabama
Chief-Justice, Judge Roy Moore, Constitutional scholar, Dr. Edwin Vieira, and/or Senior Judicial Analyst for Fox News, Judge Andrew Napolitano.
(Mon. 16 Jan. 2017; Updated: Thr. 02 Mar. 2017, NEWS; POLITICS; HEALTHCARE)
How to "Repeal & Replace" the ACA
After
a Dec. 16, 2016 response from my congressman, U.S. Rep.
Dennis A. Ross (R-FL-15th), I followed-up with a reply clarifying my
idea on how to "repeal & replace" the ACA (aka: ObamaCare). I
suggested Polk Care (Fla.) as a
possible replacement: It's both affordable, and it works. Additionally, I made the extra-added effort to contact my other representatives in the
Federal Government: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL),
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), and
the Trump transition team. *
UPDATE: In-depth analysis to support the suggestion to use 'Polk Care' as model for replacement:
(*html WebPage format * * PDF format)
Compares/Contrasts 'RomneyCare' (2006 Massachusetts law named after former Gov. Mitt Romney, "ObamaCare" (the Affordable Healthcare Act), POLK County, &
Fla indigent healthcare; and: Japan's socialised healthcare, with notes/testimony about Socialised (Universal) Healthcare in Canada & Australia.
[In-depth]
*
(Mon. 16 Jan. 2017, NEWS; POLITICS; RACE RELATIONS; EQUALITY)
Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day 2017, and as a reminder of the
gains we've made, but also the unfinished business we still have, here, from The Register's archives, is a call-in to a local radio program
commemorating the 2013 MLK, Jr. holiday: Comment
on Facebook, listen
on YouTube, follow on
Twitter. Some of the unfinished business includes the fact that:
"Four years after graduating college, black students owe nearly twice as much student debt as their white peers do and are three times more likely to
default on those loans, according to a new paper by the Brookings Institution." Source:
"Black College Grads Have Twice as Much Student Debt as Whites," by
Kerri Anne Renzulli, TIME, Oct 21, 2016.
(Mon. 07 Nov. 2016, EDITORIAL; NEWS; ELECTION 2016)
Politics; Religion; Election 2016Updates with Doris Moore Bailey: a program worth
saving A look at another local news program that has been serving Polk County and Lakeland, Florida for quite some time; highlights diverse
history, accolades, kudos, and accomplishments, as well as recent, new challenges
(Sat. 03 Sept. 2016, ACTION ITEMS)
College ; Higher Education Bubble ; U.S. Debt ; National Debt ;
Politics *The Register is still under a 'State of Emergency' here in central Florida due to weather-related issues; however, we will issue
this "call to action" with regard to the higher ed bubble that is about to burst: about 55% of all Total U.S. Debt is mortgage debt; and, about 33% is
Higher Ed (college loan) debt; the rest is Credit card, auto, & other debt. So, since the Higher-Ed debt is about 1.4 Trillion, close to ten (10%) percent
of total U.S. National debt (and growing), and U.S. tax dollars back (guarantee) these toxic, Predatory college loans, the U.S. Dollar
will crash, making us like Greece, etc., if you -the reader- do not heed this call.
To that end, we ask you to contact Sec. Clinton & Donald Trump. Tell BOTH campaigns
(and your U.S. Representative, Senator, & local press) that they need to fight for the return of Standard Bankruptcy Protections (like all other
borrowers have), at the minimum, if they want your vote. Tell them that we are 44 Million strong, and that if they think they can ignore
us, they will find out, in November 2016, that they can not.
* If you want real action, scroll on down below the 'Election Coverage' story, and see the 'Action Items' at the bottom of
the "Thr. 04 Aug. 2016" entry, below, wherein we give press coverage to U.S. Rep. Dennis A. Ross, and selected other key participants.
(Wed. 31 Aug. 2016, BREAKING)
Weather ; State of Emergency *Breaking- A "State of Emergency" has been declared due to
central-Florida "rainy-season" weather damage to the roof of The Register's headquarters, namely the computer-room /slash/ bedroom of editor,
Gordon W. Watts: (Mirror 1) *
(Mirror 2) *
(interactive 'Facebook'
note) * It could have been much worse, but all activities are suspended indefinitely in light of the new development. All prayers and well-wishes are
welcomed, as are any suggestions and/or material support/donations. ~Editor, Gordon W. Watts
*
(Wed. 24 Aug. 2016, ELECTION 2016)
Elections ; Politics *Election 2016: The Register's endorsements for both Primary and General Election: Complete coverage
for east HILLSBOROUGH Cty (Plant City, Brandon, Tampa), west POLK Cty (Lakeland, Winter Haven, Bartow), & parts of ORANGE Cty (Orlando) - with some
surprises Wednesday, 24 August 2016 (LAKELAND, Fla.)
State, Local, & National: Includes deep analysis of the five (5) main Presidential Candidates,
with pro's & con's for each.
Click here to open up in new
window; Click here for 'drop down' in same, pre-loaded page.
(Thr. 04 Aug. 2016, IN THE NEWS)
News ; Press ; Higher Education ; Politics ; Congress *The Dennis Ross 'Higher-Ed' solution in the news *
After much effort on the part of all parties, the two "Higher Ed" solutions that central-Florida Republican congressman, Dennis A. Ross
supported in a recent Town Hall Meeting (news item below) have now been receiving increased mainstream news media attention. Register
editor/publisher, Gordon W. Watts, who was the initial proponent of these popular solutions, is in agreement with Ross' two proposed solutions: (#1)
removal of taxpayer dollars from higher ed loans, in the first place, as a preventative measure, and, (#2) for existing college loans, the return of
bankruptcy, which would repair an Unconstitutional Law: University of Connecticut law professor Philip
Shuchman testified before Congress, explaining
that their removal of bankruptcy from college loans violated Federal Equal
Protection: (source 1) *
(source 2) *
(cached archive) Watts, who nearly won on behalf of Terri
Schiavo, all by himself, thinks that there are additional
Constitutional problems with current U.S. Bankruptcy Law regarding student loans - and
has contacted both
Congressman Ross, as well as his two state Senators, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL). *
PDF version *
*.html web page *
Email Attachments folder (local copy) *
Email Attachments folder (mirror 1) *
Email Attachments folder (mirror 2)
-- Meanwhile, increasing mainstream news media seems to agree with Watts:
* "Why College Prices Keep Rising," By Alan Michael Collinge, Special to The Register | September 16, 2012,
originally published at FORBES,
on Mar 19, 2012 @ 06:43 AM
Editor's Note: Congressman Dennis A. Ross (R-FL-15th) is highlighted here, but he is by no means the only party who is responsible for
fixing some very Unconstitutional laws, that affect us all. In my state (Florida), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) are also
responsible for passing laws, in the upper chamber (the U.S. Senate). Additionally, U.S. Rep. David Jolly (R-FL-13th), another Republican representing the
13th Congressional District of Florida, in Pinellas County, slightly west of Lakeland, is a rare Republican who also supports H.R.449, which shows me that
there may be hope for the GOP. "I didn't leave the Republican Party: They left me." ~anonymous disgruntled Republican *** For some bills in question,
please see the BILLS folder which is described in more detail on the main
"BraveRepublicanBreaksRanksWithGOP-HigheEd.html" news item.
(Wed. 13 Apr. 2016, BREAKING)
Higher Education ; Politics ; Congress *Brave Republican Congressman breaks with party, admits college loans deserve bankruptcy *
The Register has documented
this candid & brave admission. U.S. Rep. Dennis A. Ross, of Lakeland, Fla., bravely admits that college students deserve bankruptcy safety-net, like all
other loans afford, and also affirms the small-government view that we need to “get The Government out of the business of loaning the money,” but
has yet to introduce or cosponsor legislation to address either problem. Click
here for details and sources to verify & document our claims.
When Universities see subsidies, they increase tuition simply to pay for
million-dollar salaries. This costs students (skyrocketing tuition) and taxpayers (who back these loans). Because of that, The Register hopes
Ross will end these subsidies, to put a stop to soaring tuition and resulting record College Debt.
Ross, representing Florida's 15th Congressional
District (parts of Hillsborough & Polk counties) was once ranked the 'most conservative' Congressman by Heritage Action for America:
(link 1)
(link 2)
(link 3) but has recently been described as "a RINO in conservative
camouflage" by Conservative Review: (link 4)
(link 5)
(link 6) *
UPDATE: The Registerhas notified both Rep. Ross, Sens. Nelson & Rubio,
and the local news media-and has, more-recently, reprised his call for action:
(.pdf file format or: web-page *.html file)
See e.g., GordonWayneWattsContacts_USSenatorBillNelson.pdf for
confirmation of receipt. So, they have been put on notice that "We the People" want representation.
*** Click here for details. ***
(Wed. 17 Feb. 2016, BREAKING)
Higher Education ; Courts *Texas man arrested for not paying student loan *
Yesterday, CNNreported that "A Texas man was arrested
by U.S. Marshals last week for not paying his $1,500 federal student loan -- for 29 years." There were conflicting reports-with The Houston
Chroniclenow
reporting that "US Marshals say man wasn't just arrested because he didn't pay student loans." The Register did investigative
reporting to get to the bottom of this. While The Chronicle claims that the arrest wasn't just for nonpayment, but also because
"A federal judge then issued a warrant for Aker's arrest for failing to appear at a Dec. 14, 2012, hearing," nonetheless, a closer review finds
that Paul Aker, the recipient of the college loan "went inside to get my gun because I didn't know who these guys were," as reported by CNNMoney.
Aker also told CNNMoney that he doesn't remember having a conversation with US Marshalls, who alleged they called him first. Aker further said he
hasn't received any notification about the outstanding loan "in a long time." The Register supports the Rule of Law, and doesn't deny Courts may
issue bench warrants for failure to appear, yet this seems, in our judgment, to be extreme - even more-so in light of the Constitutional problems with the
underlying loan. (See our previous coverage of the Constitutional challenge to these laws, in our Sun. 14 Feb. 2016, UPDATES, below.)
(Sun. 14 Feb. 2016, UPDATES)
Higher Education ; Courts *Full coverage of Supreme Court 'College Loan' case *
The Register now has full coverage,
including the full court docket, with commentary, of the Tetzlaff 'Student Loan' case, including details on how Register legal editor, and
Editor-in-Chief, Gordon Watts, breathed new life into this case, once thought dead.
Click here for full coverage, links, docket, and other
resources.
(Sat. 13 Feb. 2016, BREAKING)
Courts ; Politics *Justice Antonin Scalia dead * U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonin G. Scalia has passed
away, late Friday or early Saturday, at the age of 79, recent news reports confirm. The Register sends our sincere condolences to the Scalia
family.
(Tue. 01 Dec. 2015, from Staff Reports)Courts *Chicago Courts refuse to help elderly 'Mortgage Rescue Scam' victim; make him
homeless:
For those who remember, this is almost exactly like the famous 2009 CHICAGO 'Mortgage Rescue' Scam case in which
Lessie Towns became temporarily famous, and had a personal visit
from former Gov. Pat Quinn (D-Ill.) to address her problem. (Google 'Paul Shelton' (who lost his license over this) and/or 'Lessie Towns' and/or
'Pat Quinn' and/or 'Mortgage Rescue Scam' to verify/clarify.) However, unlike Ms. Towns, Mr. Daniggelis, the elderly victim, did not actually sign
away his house and was even more of an innocent victim (albeit with much less news coverage). For those of you unfamiliar with
Mr. Daniggelis' case, you need only look at the initial filings
by Register editor, Gordon Watts in the LAW Division case
at this link -the filings denoted by a 'Blinking Dot': they are the
most updated 'primary' filings. The
The 11/30/2015 Motion
for Rehearing in CHANCERY at The Register'sopen-source
docket, is also a very good read - and quite funny in parts!
(Note: The Court's docket, which
is cached here, does not have image
download technology at this time.) Many court observers wonder if Chicago Courts are still corrupt, as in the recent past.
(Mon. 31 Aug. 2015) US/World
Finance:China dumping US Treasuries onto World Market- As reported by
FxStreet.com back in July and then confirmed by
Bloomberg,
China has been selling US Treasury Bonds at a rate of USD$40B per month, which will slowly, but surely, liquidate their USD$3.65T holdings. The
Register notes that $40 Billion is slightly more than one (1%) percent of the 3.65 Trillion stockpile total, and that a "billion" is a thousand
millions, and that a "trillion" is a thousand billions -or a million millions:
Oxford Dictionaries confirms The Register's claim:
"In British English, a billion used to be equivalent to a million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000), while in American English it has always equated to a
thousand million (i.e. 1,000,000,000). British English has now adopted the American figure, though, so that a billion equals a thousand million in both
varieties of English."
*
(Mon. 31 Aug. 2015) US/World
Finance:Commentary- "The beginning of the end": Between our continual / continuous printing
of EXCE$S DOLLAR$, and China's dumping on the market, there will be so many dollars floating around, they may not (soon) be worth the paper on which they
are printed. With money becoming worthless, we must invest in that which is eternal: help our fellow-man when he (or she) is in need. (That sounds
'religious,' but be that as it may, it seems quite true.) -RELATED: "When the Last Tree Is Cut Down, the Last Fish Eaten, and the Last Stream Poisoned,
You Will Realize That You Cannot Eat Money" --Cree Native American Indian proverb -References: -
QuoteInvestigator.com -
Quotes.net -
OxfordReference.com
(Sun. 16 Aug. 2015) Investigative
UPDATE:Mortgage Fraud in Chicago, IL-The Register has filed a
request in the trial court to include the previous filings in the
record on appeal, and he has also asked the appeals court for
supervisory overview of these matters. As previously reported by The Register, legal editor and editor-in-chief, Gordon Watts, uncovered forgery
fraud and fraud of other sorts in these mortgage fraud cases.
(Tue. 04 Aug. 2015) Investigative
Report:Mortgage Fraud in Chicago, IL-The Register has uncovered mortgage fraud, resulting in a home being
stolen, and the elderly home-owner being evicted -and getting no payment whatsoever for the 'sale.' FRAUD: Two signatures on different documents were
identical. This is forgery fraud: no mere mortal can sign his/her name exactly the same twice in a row. This fraud was overlooked by the Court and lawyers
on both sides: New papers filed in GMAC v. Daniggelis, 2007-CH-29738 and Younes v. Daniggelis,
2014-M1-701473: Court filings --
Misc. Public Records docs (Mr. Richard B. Daniggelis, an elderly Old Town, Chicago
gentleman, is the victim.)
Symbols:
SCALES represent competing claims of Redress. BLINDFOLD represents fairness: "Justice is blind." SWORD represents the Power
of The Court to enforce Justice.
(Thr. 11 June 2015) News Flash:Fla. Gov. Rick Scott signs controversial 'Gay Adoptions' bill-
CS/HB-7013: (Adoption and Foster Care) was "Signed by Officers and presented to Governor [on] Thursday, June 11, 2015
9:10 AM." Source: "Bill History" of Fla.
House; cf: Fla. Senate, and
signed into law just this afternoon:
Transmittal Letter (official link) -
Transmittal Letter (cache)The Register reminds readers: The welfare of
the child, not making a political statement, is what is foremost on Jesus' mind. ORIGINAL NEWS ITEMS FOLLOW:
(Tue. 02 June 2015) Commentary:Why I oppose an outright ban on 'Gay Adoptions' -
A friend of mine just called me up, yelling & screaming that I "support" gays because I oppose an outright ban on gay adoptions. FYI: My friend and I are
both against 'Same Sex Marriage,' and we both agree that, on average, gay adoptions are not as good as 'traditional,' 1-man-1-woman marriage parenting or
adoption; however, support for an "outright ban" on 'Gay Adoptions' is very bad for no less than three (3) reasons outlined in
my response to him, here. Let me go on record and state: if we, conservatives, lose our fight
against 'Same Sex Marriage,' it will be for reasons like this needless distraction (and/or for 'rich' conservatives refusing to help 'poor'
conservatives like myself file Amici briefs at the nation's high court when the rules required the filer to be a lawyer), and I say we
would deserve to lose. ~Gordon W. Watts, Editor-in-Chief
(Fri. 15 May 2015) Politics:Redux on CS/HB 7013 (Adoption and Foster Care), which strikes controversial 'Gay Adoption' law and "conscience clause"
debate - The Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC), and
Florida Family Action (FFA) (which is its Lobbying and Legislative arm) has
recently lobbied Gov. Rick Scott (R-fla.) to veto CS/HB 7013, Adoption and
Foster Care. Click here for Watts' response to that -and balanced analyses of the conscience
clause debate.
(Fri. 24 April 2015) Case
Update:Court meets today to discuss the Watts case - As all eyes are on the U.S. Supreme
Court, today, the clerk has taken Watts' case
and "DISTRIBUTED for Conference of April 24,
2015", which is today, according to docket. Lady Justice silently watches, and ponders whether court will repeat the mistakes of the past.
(Tue. 14 April 2015) Politics:Florida's CS/HB 7013: Adoption and Foster Care bill strikes controversial 'Gay Adoption' law - The bill passed
both House and Senate. While The Register opposes both 'Gay Marriage' as well as creation of a new protected class in sexual orientation, gender
identity, gender expression, etc., nonetheless, we 'Conservatives' are not bigots or haters, and real science is used to defend Florida's removal of the
'Gay Adoption' ban. (Editor's Note: Click here to see a
'middle-of-the-road' approach, that should make both Gay Rights activists and right-wingers, like myself, happy -in my letter to The Governor, press, and
selected state lawmakers. ~Editor-in-Chief, Gordon Wayne Watts)See how your lawmaker voted: CS/HB 7013 passed the Fla. House by a
vote of 68-50-0-1 (Senate page -
Cache), but had one
flip-flop, and one other late-vote
(House page -
Cache), bringing the vote to 67-52-0-0. It passed the Fla. Senate by a vote of 27-11-0-2
(Senate page -
Cache -
House page -
Cache), and is set to be signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R-Fla.)
(Sat. 11 April 2015) Causes:Richard's son: medical expenses & care -Editor's Note: I have known Richard for about 20 years, maybe
longer, when we hung out at Burton's place. His 8-year-old son has medical problems,
and the hospital does not run on air: while it is possible that he may (or may not?) receive some type of aid, it is only fair to pay the hospital what is
possible. I would ask readers, that are able, to donate: Click here to donate.
Connect with Richard on his Facebook. Again, here is the GoFundMe link for
Richard's son's medical expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/rf2jb3b4m ~Editor-in-Chief,
Gordon Wayne Watts
(Fri. 03 April 2015) Case
Update:High Court enters odd ruling, upholding "money can buy access to courts" rule - Petition for rehearing filed
with court, "Original + 40," instead of usual 'O+10' required of In Forma Pauperis, so clerks, Justices, libraries, & press can have easy access.
Case docs & court's docket links beneath Lady Justice below, on the right.
(Tue. 24 March 2015) News
Updates:Watts' case set for review Fri. Mar. 27 before High Court -
Today, The U.S. Supreme Court docketed a 2nd Supplemental Brief in the case of Register editor, Gordon Watts, who, previously, lost a 4-3
decision in State Court in his bid to save Terri Schiavo. Watts is asking the High Court for permission to file an Amicus
Curiae (friend of the court) brief in several high-profile gay marriage cases, as reported previously by The Register. Case Documents can be
downloaded beneath the 'Lady Justice' icon, on the right. Watts is alleging, in his filing, that both sides have overlooked an obvious, and "workable"
solution that will grant relief both to the "traditional" marriage advocates, who wish to keep the definition of marriage the same, as well as showing
'Gay Rights' advocates solutions that have been used in the past which did not require the definition of marriage to be altered or changed.
For information on my Amicus Curiae (friend of the court brief) in the recent big "Gay Marriage" case, at the Federal Appeals court (which
preceded the U.S. Supreme Court case, here), here is a link to the online docket with free downloads:
* COURT DOCKET
* Mirror-1 cache
* Mirror-2 cache
* Archive Today cache-1
* Archive Today cache-2
* Wayback Machine archive-1
* Wayback Machine
archive-2 *
My participation was unique in two (2) ways: First, I was the only "non-lawyer" which this court allowed to participate (so far as I know: A few
other non-lawyers were denied participation). Secondly, I was the only "pro-marriage" litigant to advocate and defend gays against mistreatment (for
example, hospital visitations, life insurance policies, etc.), while at the same time defending the 1-man, 1-woman definition of marriage (under Equal
Protection standards) arguing that polygamy, aka plural marriages, had more legal precedent, and would have to be allowed if "same sex" marriages were
allowed by the court.
(Tue. 24 March 2015) Commentary:Supreme Court rule which, in essence, says that "money can buy access to the courts," is 'bad' rule -
Since RULE 37.3(a) of the US Supreme Court permits that:
"An amicus curiae brief in a case before the Court for oral argument may be filed if accompanied by the written consent of all parties...,"
then Watts' brief would normally be "automatically accepted": as noted on
The Court's Official Docket, "Consent to the filing
of amicus curiae briefs, in support of either party or of neither party" was filed with the court by both petitioners and respondents in one case.
[["A petitioner or respondent may submit to the Clerk a letter granting blanket consent to amicus curiae briefs, stating that the party consents
to the filing of amicus curiae briefs in support of either or of neither party. The Clerk will note all notices of blanket consent on the
docket.": RULE 37.2(a)]]
However, unlike the appeals court, which permitted Watts to file
an amicus brief, RULE 37.1 of the US Supreme Court does
not allow non-attorneys to file such briefs: "An amicus curiae brief may be filed only by an attorney admitted to practice before this Court as
provided in Rule 5."
In plain English, an ax-murderer can represent himself pro se, acting as his own attorney, but when filing in someone else's case, The Supreme
Court, unlike many other courts, requires you to have a lawyer who is a member of the US Supreme Court bar.
The rule prohibiting "non-lawyers" from filing briefs in other peoples' cases has been around for many decades, and is not unlike the recent
rule change prohibiting "non-lawyers" from oral
arguments before the High Court. (In SEC v Sloan, 436 U.S. 103,
non-lawyer Samuel H. Sloan had oral arguments before the high court, and successfully
argued that the SEC, in issuing successive 10-day suspensions, abused its power, and Sloan won 9-0. That 1978 case
was the last time a "non-lawyer" orally
argued before the high court.)
Many people, including the court's own justices, have said that people have "no" automatic right of review by the Supreme Court, but, as shown above, that
is not true in all cases. However, what about the case where a person wants to file a 'friend of the court' brief, as Watts
has been allowed to do, but you simply can't afford a lawyer who is a
member of the Supreme Court bar? The only thing stopping Watts from filing was the fact that he couldn't afford to "buy access" through a highly-money
lawyer. (The fact that he took hard shots at both pro- and anti- gay advocates did not help his chances at finding a lawyer willing to file for him; nor,
did it help that Watts is not in the "in crowd" of high rank and status "insiders.") The only lawyer who was receptive to Watts' pleas for help
asked $50,000.oo to file, obviously over-priced, and outside most peoples' range.
The court did not find any fault with Watts' brief, and, in fact, actually
docketed it in error for a short period of time.
It's a mystery why no one has challenged this long-time rule (or perhaps they did, and the press didn't report on it?), but Watts speculates that it's
obvious why no one has bothered to challenge RULE 37.3(a): Watts
deduces that most people unable to afford an attorney to file are also too poor to get proper skills to fight an unjust rule, such as this.
But, in the end, it matters not "how long" a rule's been around: just like slavery and womens' suffrage were permitted to carry on for some time, likewise
Rule 37.3(a) has been permitted to "keep out" anyone unable to afford an attorney. For this reason, The Register confidently opines that this rule
has only one purpose: to ensure that "money buys access" to the high court. No other explanation is adequate: indeed, even Federal Appeals courts, just one
notch below the high court, permit this sort of thing, so what's
the high court's problem?
It is hoped that The Justices will see the wisdom in updating and revising outdated and antiquated rules that "send the wrong message": Money can buy
access to The Court. Moreover, as Sloan has demonstrated, above,
sometimes a "non-lawyer" can be very helpful to the court.
That is why Watts' Amicus brief is necessary: "Rule 37. Brief for an Amicus Curiae 1. An amicus curiae
brief that brings to the attention of the Court relevant matter not already brought to its attention by the parties
may be of considerable help to the Court."
The letter from the clerk alleged that both petitions were
being returned because, among other things, they needed to specify the type of relief being sought, needed a proper affidavit of indigency, and a “copy of
the corrected petition must be served on opposing counsel,” along with a Certificate of Service. Veteran court observers were baffled by the odd response
from The Court, since both the January and February filings, in the news items below, clearly specified the relief sought (namely ability to file an amicus
pro se, without needing an attorney), the latter included an
In Forma Pauperis declaration, which
included the required affidavit of indigency, as the rules require, and one of
them even served the other parties.
While early speculations included fears that The Court and clerks were merely trying to stonewall and delay Watts' filing or deny him Due Process, The
Register notes that this seems unlikely in light of the fact that Clerk Fossum could easily have continued to delay his response to Watts, thereby
allowing the time-deadlines to pass for the
four consolidated 'Gay Marriage' cases
for which Watts is attempting for file an Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court) brief.
It is speculated (but not known) that The Clerks faulted his January petition for placing the motion to file in the brief, instead of as a separate filing,
and the February petition for failing to serve other parties, which Watts did not do, based on the fact that
RULE 20.4(b) of
The U.S. Supreme Court states that “Habeas corpus proceedings, except in capital cases, are
ex parte, unless the Court requires the respondent to show cause why the petition for a writ of habeas corpus should not be granted,” thereby
obviating the need to serve other parties.
In spite of the fact that Watts did not need to serve the other parties, as Rule 20.4(b) implies, he made another attempt to file a
Petition for the Extraordinary Writ
of Habeas Corpus, along with the required paperwork
to proceed as indigent, due to the huge financial
costs of his prior filings -and he refiled an updated version of his proposed brief:
UPDATED Amicus brief: Mar.01,2015 (Word Doc)
* UPDATED Amicus brief: Mar.01,2015 (PDF) *
Veteran court observers do not know how The Court will react to Watts' request to become the first person in the court's history to file a Friend of the
Court brief without the aid of an attorney, as the current
RULE 37.1 requires, especially in light of the fact that
Watts' prior filings seemed to comply with the rules, and in light of the apparent discrepancy between the
Court's Feb. 19 time-stamp and the actual
delivery date of Feb. 18.
Friday 06 Mar. 2015 UPDATE:
The
hoard of Watts' Amicus briefs, with the
required paperwork that was prepared on Wed. 04 Mar. 2015
at the local FedEx Office centre, was
shipped that morning at 9:45am and
delivered today to the Court, and
signed for by
an 'I.BENNETT' at 2:04pm today, 4 minutes past the 2PM
deadline for Amicus briefs supporting neither side, and thus late, unless the 'end of day' is used to time-stamp the filings. The
Register believes that these filings will not be counted late because
RULE 29.2 of the
Court allows that: "A document is timely filed...if it is delivered on or before the last day for
filing to a third-party commercial carrier for delivery to the Clerk within 3 calendar days," which it was. The Register also notes that the
filing should, legally, actually be time-stamped with the February date, because of
RULE 14.5, which permits that the petition would be deemed
timely, and thus not late: "If the Clerk determines that a petition submitted timely and in good faith is in a form that does not comply with this Rule
or with Rule 33 or Rule 34, the Clerk will return it with a letter indicating the deficiency. A corrected petition submitted in accordance with Rule 29.2
no more than 60 days after the date of the Clerk’s letter will be deemed timely." The petition for The Extraordinary Writ of Habeas Corpus, which
Watts filed under RULE 20.2, permits his filing to follow "the
form of a petition for a writ of certiorari prescribed by Rule 14," which makes his proposed Amicus Curiae briefs timely, should
the Habeas relief be granted. However, as these are very extraordinary requests in Watts' petitions, asking for a wholesale revision of
RULE 37.1, which many believe unfairly restricts that "An
amicus curiae brief may be filed only by an attorney admitted to practice before this Court," then these time-issues may be inconsequential
in The Court's view of the larger questions at hand: Are pro se litigants unfairly denied Due Process or given 'unequal' protection, when
compared with those able to afford an attorney? And, can it benefit The Court to do like many appeals courts and allow pro se non-lawyers to
file potentially-helpful Amicus briefs?
Thursday 12 Mar. 2015 UPDATE:
The U.S. Supreme Court's docket notes that Watts' case was "DISTRIBUTED for Conference of March 27, 2015," for review by The
Justices: In re Gordon Wayne Watts,
Petitioner: No. 14-8744[Editorial Comment: They don't play: that was quite fast. No backlog or slackers here.]
Sat. 14 Feb. 2015 UPDATE:
The U.S. Supreme Court almost accepted the Jan. 23 filings (below), and docketed Watts as a party in one case:
-Docket- but quickly deleted the entry when they re-read the filing, and saw
that Watts wasn't a lawyer. (Apparently, his filing was good enough to pass for that of a lawyer.) The Court eventually denied Watts' request, claiming
that he didn't use proper protocol in filing an "All Writs" petition, so he
refiled again
(receipt) on Feb. 14, 2015, using exacting protocol:
* -Motion In Forma Pauperis, etc.-
* -UPDATED amicus (PDF)-
* -UPDATED amicus (*.doc)- * On Thr. 26 Feb. 2015,
at the suggestion of Merit's Clerk, Denise McNerney, he followed-up with
a letter to the Justices and sent it
Next-Day Air via both
FedEx and
USPS(and signed for by the same person in
both cases) due to the time-sensitive nature of the issue. Now Hiring: One lawyer barred in
the U.S. Supreme Court to review & file the amicus in this news item. Payment will cover printing, service, and time. Contact Gordon W. Watts,
through this website to inquire. Watts' brief does not have any objectionable material, as does that of
the lawyer who filed
this bizarre brief;
however, to follow proper protocol, prospective lawyer should proof-read to ensure that
this problem does not
happen. Latest Update: The Register spoke with Merit's
Clerk, Erik Fossum, on Thr. 02-26-2015, who confirmed receipt of
the Feb. 14 Habeas filing, linked above, but, as yet, it has not appeared in a routine
docket search of the
U.S. Supreme Court.UPDATE:
On Fri., Jan. 23, 2015, Watts asked U.S. Supreme Court for leave to file an amicus pro se in
the 'Gay Marriage' cases currently being reviewed from our sister circuit, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which are consolidated from 4 appeals
originating from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee:
* -Brief- -
* -Certificates of Compliance-
* -Signed Certificates- (large file size) *
Due to mounting costs associated with printing and service (mailing) of the many court items, here, I'm experimenting
with a Donation Button. CAVEAT: Any donations will not be tax-deductible, and, until I have time to post a strict accounting of my costs incurred,
you will just have to take my word for this. I am not sure, but I estimate I have spent almost $3,000.oo in court costs alone, litigating in
all 3 levels of court: District, Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. Supreme Court-in an attempt to be a 'Good Samaritan' and work out a solution
that will satisfy both 'traditional marriage' conservatives (such as myself) and liberal 'Gay Rights' activists (who do have some legitimate and
genuine grievances about how gays are sometimes mistreated). Official releases:
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
UPDATE: In Jan. 06, 2015 Order of The Court, Watts' motion
for leave to file an amended amicus curiae brief - replacing his timely 11/21/2014 brief on docket - was GRANTED.
Original Release:
Sun. 30 Nov. 2014 / Updated: Wed. 07 Jan. 2015
BREAKING - FLA GAY MARRIAGE: The Florida Law, which defines "marriage" as '1 man and 1
woman,' and which was passed by voters in 2008 by an addition to the State Constitution, by almost a 62% supermajority vote, was invalidated by a Federal
Judge in North Florida this past August. Register Editor, Gordon W. Watts, who, several years ago, lost a 4-3 split decision on behalf of Theresa
'Terri' Schiavo, has been allowed to file an Amicus Curiae brief in the high-profile "Florida Gay Marriage" case, currently being appealed in the
11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in Atlanta, GA. Watts, a nonlawyer, whose only college training is in the sciences (B.S., Biological/Chemical Sciences,
FSU, double major with honours; A.S. Valedictorian in Electronics Technology from The United Electronics Institute) has filed papers in support of the
controversial Florida Law. Watts uses a never-before-used 'Equal Protection' argument that, barring an unfair hearing, would be sufficient grounds to either
uphold the Florida Law or, in the unlikely alternative, make polygamy (plural marriages) legal. For complete coverage of this issue, including Watts'
filings, please see The Register'sresearch page (link here). Court documents,
technically, are available to the public -but at a charge; The Register is hosting these court filings as an 'Open Source' service for the
interested public. Watts' brief, while likely sufficient to defend the Florida Law, is unique in all the Amici briefs on the state's side, insofar as it
offers relief to those who claim damage from the Florida Law -without sacrificing either the definition of marriage as '1 man and 1 woman,' as is currently
the law -or compromising the morals of those whose religious beliefs are in agreement with the popular Florida Law.
(Permalink-1 --
Permalink-2 --
Official Press Release)
Sat. 30 Aug. 2014 (Last Updated: Sat. 13 Sept. 2014) - LEGAL ANALYSIS: FLORIDA'S
proposed Medical Marijuana “Amendment 2” violates Federal Law, contains lies that are misleading -and could even get you arrested, charged, & prosecuted
under Federal charges: PROOF - (PDF Document) - (Word *.doc) -
(Web-page *.html) - NEW - BIBLICAL ANALYSIS: What does the
Christian Bible say about 'Medical Marijuana'? - Surprising finds in both the Old and New Testaments: (PDF
Document) - (Word *.doc) - (Web-page *.html)
For more on this, as well as Scriptural proof that the rapture is mid-week, but pre-trib, see the Religion
(Theology / Spiritual) link in the nav bar, above. - NEW: Portugal has decriminalised the use of all
illicit drugs: Does their model work? - (PDF Document) -
(Word *.doc) - (Web-page *.html) -
NEW: MARIJUANA: Medical and Health effects - (PDF
Document) - (Word *.doc) -
(Web-page *.html)
Tue. 19 Aug. 2014 - UPDATE to the Tue. 29 July 2014 news item, below:
While I believe I acted with good motives at every turn/juncture, I need to clear Atty. John Shannon's name, regarding the news item, below -
as touching misconceptions on my part about his own motives: Earlier this evening, Tue. 19 Aug. 2014, I attended a debate between Ms. Burton and Mr.
Shannon, and, after the debate, hosted by a local "9-12" group, I made it a point to apologise to Mr. Shannon. (Although the only thing I could think of
that I might have done wrong was be a bit talkative to his secretary, when making an inquiry as to why was blocked, nonetheless, whether any of this was my
fault or not, I felt it was the 'right' thing to to to apologise to him.) While I am still not sure I know what happened on his end (and while I don't
know whether he 'connected' my name and face & recognised me), Mr. Shannon was good enough to accept my apology, and appeared genuinely sincere. Later, I
hope to have more updates, which include some news coverage of the debate. So, when you read this account, below, please keep in mind that Mr. Shannon
(and his secretaries & staff, like all of us) is human, and subject to mistakes, and please be accordingly patient with all our human limitations, mine
included. --Editor-in-Chief, Gordon Wayne Watts
-End of Update-
Tue. 29 July 2014 -
Local LAKELAND, Fla. attorney running for State House goes nutty - all caught on tape
Lakeland, Fla. Attorney, John Hugh Shannon, who is running against popular Republican Community Activist, Colleen Burton, goes nutty. Atty. Shannon is
caught on tape bullying and threatening to slander little people for reasons unknown: Documentation of said claims:
LINK, and is
caught on tape. It is not illegal legal, in Florida, to tape record certain phone calls without
their knowledge, permission, or consent: Memorandum of Law -
Facebook mirror: VIDEO -
Local copy: VIDEO
Mon. 28 July 2014 -
30-Year Reunion for Plant City Senior High School -
"PCHS Class of 1984 & More Reunion" is slated for Fri. Aug.01, 2014. "Happy Hour" begins at 4:00PM at Jimmy B's Bar, 6200 Gulf Blvd, St. Pete Beach,
FL 33706.
[[map links: (Google
search/map) - (Yahoo!
search/map) - (Mapquest search/map)]] There is
NO admission charge for the Fri. evening function. The main event will take place on Sat. Aug 02, 2014, from 6:00PM 'til 11:00PM at
The Postcard Inn, next door to Jimmy B's. Buffet & "Cash Bar"; Music provided by a live D.J. ("Slammin' Sammy" McCullogh, class of 1984), dancing, slide
show, PCHS trivia contest, & more fun; Friday golf outing - TBD. Dave Pippin, class of 1984 (President
of FutureTech Financial, Inc.) and Chris Kent, class of 1985 (co-founder of
Numis Network) will be raffling off 20 FREE 3 Day, 2 Night Cruises for 2 to the Bahamas! David and
Chris are very experienced in financial matters. Saturday daytime activities - Volleyball & other beach activities. Anyone is welcome, especially classes
1981-1987, but space is limited, so register early.
Admission is only $60.oo per person. FULL PAYMENT MUST BE MADE BY MAY 15, 2014.Strike that: You may still pay
in advance (by calling David Pippin or Noelle Swindal: both are accepting payment: see below), or, alternatively, you may pay at the door. There
will NOT be any "up charge": The cost to attend Saturday's 'Main Reunion' event is still only $60.oo, and the Friday night 'get together' is still
free. AVAILABILITY IS LIMITED TO 200 ATTENDEES. Reunion organisers strongly suggest that the "Class of 1984" register ASAP, as it will be a
"first-come, first-served" registration. For those who don't wish to drive to St. Pete & spend the weekend or Sat. night, organisers are trying to
arrange a shuttle for Sat. night, only. There will be an extra charge for this between $25.oo-$35.00/person.Strike
that: There will not be a shuttle provided. Plan accordingly. Check these websites for official info & updates:
Bring your $60.oo, and pay at the door, and make sure you have a room if you plan to stay overnight between the Friday and Saturday events. For more
information, please send Dave Pippin an email at: DPippin@FutureTechFinancial.com. Additional Sleeping
accommodations: PCHS group rates are available at The Postcard Inn and The Beachcomer next door, if they have not, as yet, sold out. However, we suggest
that you check online at your favorite travel site to search for better rates. Rovia.com is a great site to
check for the best rates.
PCHS Class of 1984 & More Reunion - Event Organizers:
Dave Pippin, President of FutureTech Financial, Inc.
Noelle Swindal (Maloney)
Stacy Benton (Dillard)
Jeff Borgan
Patty Alderman (Huret)
Shayne Ray (Hassell)
This news brief brought to you by Gordon Wayne Watts (class of 1984), Editor-in-Chief, The Register. - Last updated at: Mon. 29 July 2014
There is a photo of a college professor circulating the Internet, which says the following:
“I am a college professor increasingly frustrated by the incredible debt I see my students taking on.
According to the University of Minnesota, in 1968 a student working 6.2 hours a week at minimum wage would have earned enough to pay annual tuition
and fees of $385.
That was back when education was considered a public good and not a private investment…
…back when education was for the 99%.”
The professor is David Davies, associate professor of anthropology at Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and his claim is verified as true
and correct, according to the Star Tribune of Minnesota, which reports the following: “In 1968-69, a student could have clocked 6.2 hours a week at
minimum wage to earn enough to cover annual tuition and fees of $385, according to the U. This year, a student would have to work 33.9 hours a week
at minimum wage to cover tuition and fees.”
Both liberals and conservatives are at fault for this mess:
Liberals made loans easily available to anyone who had a pulse, and, like in the infamous Housing bubble of 2010, sellers jacked up prices REAL HIGH
because they knew buyers had “easy loans” available. Result: A bubble, and resultant higher prices (distorting the free market, in techie terms)
Then so-called conservatives under Bush removed the bankruotcy safety net. At least the housing buyers could file bankruptcy, and this at least slowed
the bubble of price-gouging. However, students, without even the most basic protections that rich Wall Street Bankers have (bankers can file bankruptcy
for HUGE SUM$!), are preyed upon even more.
Result: Even worse bubble.
None of us on the conservative side is asking for a 'Free Handout,' but to give huge bankruptcy protections to the rich bankers -even
AFTER they've gotten copious liberal 'bailouts' and corporate handouts -and yet, somehow deny poor students the same protections -is patently unfair,
and, as I argue here, illegal: Education Link (click here)
Gordon Wayne Watts Higher Education writer -and Editor-in-Chief, The Register
Newly Updated:
When Babies Die: Where do they go? (Full-color Edition) [Kindle Edition] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:"When Babies Die: Where do they go? Heaven? Hell?" is now available at a bookstore near
you: For ages, this question has baffled
men and women, preacher and layman, learned and the "common man" -Joe Average citizen. Many a grieving parent has longed for solid, but true, answers, not
just 'fairy-tale' assurances, lacking substance
or reliability.
Now, theological researcher, Gordon Wayne Watts, of Lakeland, Fla. (between Orlando & Tampa), whose main claim to fame was almost winning the landmark 'Terri
Schiavo' case –all by himself –despite not
being a lawyer, puts his research skills to work on this case regarding infants who die. His analysis addresses not only unborn babies who die in infancy
and killed via abortion, miscarriage,
stillbirth, & Early Infant Death -but also persons born with mental disabilities who subsequently die –and by extension, this may possibly include peoples
who have never heard of the Gospel of Christ
–such as remote tribes of the world.
First off, there needs to be a distinction made with the 'proximal' fate, as opposed to the 'eternal' fate. (In other words, where the infant's soul is "for
the time being" is NOT necessarily the same as
his or her eternal fate, and there IS a difference.) Secondly, while most simply have assumed an "innocent" baby would go to heaven (and this is probably
true -for the 'time being'), the eternal fate is
a different story.
While the "ending" will catch most off-guard, it is a 'good' ending, rest assured. Watts explores nine (9) different positions on this matter (listed in
Chapter 1, for those who can't wait to see where
he stands on the issue), and eliminates 7 of them as theologically impossible, leaving 2 possible outcomes. This is a deep subject, and the writer assumes
the reader accepts the Holy Bible as
authoritative (since this is the main source of the proof offered), but Watts gives this subject a deeper treatment than any other writer, to date. Sit back,
grab a cup of hot cocoa or a tall, iced-cold
latte, and enjoy the journey on which Mr. Watts takes the reader.
If you have problems with your order, shoot me an email with your receipt or proof of purchase included: Contact Link
~~Gordon
Sun. 01-06-2013 -- New section on Higher Education, Colleges, Universities, Predatory lending in
College / Student Loans, and the resultant soaring costs of college, student loan debt & Higher
Ed Bubble. Click here: Education
Thr. 12-13-2012 UPDATE: U.S. Congressman busted for 1st Amendment violations, as
many witnesses come forward. Keywords: #Twittergate ; #Busted (Link)
Sun. 01-06-2013 UPDATE: Speaker John Boehner notified about his wayward
congressman. Keywords: #Boehner ; #Ross ; #RepDennisRoss ; #Congressman ; #Twittergate ;
#Busted (Link)
Fri. 11-30-2012 “Defending Gov. Scott's Proposal”[Op-Ed defending
Gov. Rick Scott's (R-Fla.) proposal to demand $10,000.oo degree programs in Florida colleges]
FRIDAY, 16 Mar. 2012 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:The Register has sent this email to U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX-21st), the chair of the
House Judiciary Committee, regarding
H.R. 2028, The Private Student Loan Bankruptcy Fairness Act of 2011, and also H.R. 4170, The Student Loan Forgiveness Act of 2012. -Editor
Tue. 12-27-2011 -- Whitehouse gives partial treatment in petition process -- The Whitehouse's new
'We The People' petition process, described in
other recent news of The Register, has rules for submitting online petition: “Remember you have just 30 days to get 25,000 signatures in order to
get a response from the White House.”
(link) -
(cache 1) - (cache 2)
However,
as shown here, (link)
-
(cache 1) -
(cache 2), one petition is being given from Dec. 14, 2011
until Jan. 20, 2012, well-over the 30-day minimum,
thus violating Equal Protection of those who weren't given the extra time. See our news coverage on 'We The People' for more details of The Whitehouse's new
petition process.
'BIG' Trouble with Facebook: (Fri. 23 Dec. 2011)Register editor, Gordon Wayne
Watts, a battle-hardened Internet veteran (who has
made websites from scratch, such as this one) has frustration with a routine password reset -and offers some advice about Facebook.com -in his own
words:
UPDATE: Mon. 12-26-2011 - Marishka from Facebook's User Operations just responded this morning and got my account back
online.-GWW
"On around Tue. or Wed. (13-14 Dec. 2011), I was posting on a wall, when I got an error
message,...
RECENT NEWS
* BREAKING:Democracy in America's Republic has
died: U.S. Congressman, or more likely, an aide answering emails for him, tells constituent to not email
him: mirror 1 --
mirror 2 even though no threats, abuse, or
harassment (like excess emails or the like) was involved. Constituent's
response: mirror 1 --
mirror 2 Apparently, this got someone's
attention, as Congress later
visited The Register's website: cache
1 -
cache 2.
Alt. News Media/ BlogrollFar-right panel
* NEWS:Some Republicans
make confusing statements, including freshman congressman, Dennis A. Ross (R-Fla.-12). Item #1 - Liberal grassroots
advocate, Florida Consumer Action
Network accused Rep. Dennis Ross of making a pledge, as follows:
"“oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses … and oppose any net reduction or
elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”"
cache 1 -
cache 2The Register
investigated this and found that, in fact,
Ross made such a pledge: link -
cache 1 -
cache 2 However, Ross is on record as having said something
that appears to be a bit little different in a News Chief:
"Ross has also shown himself willing to look at the fiscal policies in force during President Bill Clinton's administration. That period had higher tax
rates but also tough spending controls that actually produced a surplus."
While not actually a lie or a flip-flop, this is, admittedly, somewhat confusing:
cache 1 -
cache 2Item #2
- Many Republicans
abandon conservative, Free Market principles (thus lying about campaign promises), resulting in increased taxation on students and do not
support a bill to correct this problem: See "A Lesson
in Freedoms" immediately below to verify this claim.
* Economy:Many Democrats caught in a lie including U.S. Sen.
Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) regarding Balanced Budget Amendment. Click here to see the YouTube video documenting this.
Here are saved copies (Cache 1 or
Cache 2) of the video if YouTube is
offline or slow to load. Likewise, here are saved
copies of: The Notes: (Cache 1 or
Cache 2) --and, the original request for help:
(Cache 1 or
Cache 2) -- Now, The Register calls on you to
NOT be lazy: View the vid, and contact your
elected officials (Democrat and Republican) and local news media. - Copy of letter sent to Sen. Nelson - Microsoft Word format:
(Cache 1 or
Cache 2) HTML web-page format:
(Cache 1Cache 2)
* UPDATE: New spooky advances in science allow
you to pick the right match in romance / marriage, using,
among other things, a computer analysis of your facial features. With 50%-plus divorce rate, America must do something: Visit the "Romance" link and view the updates for details.
A Lesson in Freedoms - 4th of July 2011: The Register Makes
New Findings on an Old Problem July 04, 2011 -- The Register publishes
very controversial study(Cached copy 1 -
Cached copy 2) comparing Civil War era
slavery with Student Loan default -but justifies
this study due to recent alarmingly sharp increases in suicides directly related to Student Loan default: Those who do not learn from history (Civil War) are
doomed to repeat it (modern-day oppressions:
indentured servitude, debt-slavery, suicides, etc.) View News Release -
PDF Format -
MHT format - Cache: Mirror 1 -
MHT format Cache: Mirror 2 UPDATE: Monday, July 11, 2011 -- After a full week of peer review of this position paper by peoples of all colours, The
Register has concluded that this controversial paper
was not offensive to Black Americans -or peoples of any colours -and, to verify this claim, has released a small portion of this peer review. To see a screen
shot that lengthy discussion, please click on
any one of the 3 mirrors to view: Mirror 1 -
Mirror 2 -
Mirror 3-Editor
Click here or here to find out how to
combat the rising tide of parents killing their handicapped or unborn children to 'send them to heaven': where babies go when they die. No, it's not
necessarily heaven, BUT IT CAN BE: What THE BIBLE has
to say.
HEADLINE:
Click here
or here to see how, for once and all, to beat
Skyrocketing
Tuition "Higher-Ed Tuition Costs: The Conservative view is not on either extreme"
Alert:All major candidates for Fla. Governor & Fla's U.S. Senates seat are 'Liberal Knuckleheads' who are responsible for your skyrocketing tuition.
Click:
*here* -or- *here* for details.
Cool video:Click here:"Freedom Is Colorblind (open up your eyes)"
When I say 'Conservative,' I mean things like:
* Less taxing and spending Related vid
* More rights to free speech and the rights to keep/bear arms
* More rights to life (from cradle to grave: Think unborn, disabled, handicapped, or elderly)
* Upholding of the 'Rule of Law,' which effectively means more Law and Order: For example, I love people of all nations/nationalities, but if they want to
immigrate, they must do it legally, and when
the US Government REFUSES to uphold, obey, or enforce immigration law, and then has the gall to tell AZ that THEY can't enforce the law, then *who* are the
'illegals?'
Answer: The U.S. Government ARE THE ILLEGALS -since, of course, it is *they* who are telling Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) that she can't enforce 'the law'
-and that they won't either.
Headline: A solution to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has been
found: *Click Here* -And The Register is hoping to put pressure on the
Federal Government to get on board with this
solution -and hopes you also put pressure on the Feds: Cache
1
- Cache 2 Related
links: Fox news coverage of this
- Wimp coverage - Link to the
original reporter's
coverage
Besides this cool method above (1) hay, I just realised - There are 4 *other* cool solutions: (2) Oil Spill Centrifuge Technology;
(3) Why not drill on land (like Texas)?
(4) There is *already* an FDA-approved oil-eating microbe; why aren't they using that? (5) one word: 'SKIMMERS!' * Does the government *want* us to fail -to
keep us down? - "Things that make
you go: 'Hmm...'."
From the Archives: 5-Year Anniversary of death of Terri Schiavo marks request for Grand Jury indictments against judges:
Robert J. More (ThirstForJustice.net),
a member of the famous Notre Dame 88 has asked The Register to intervene, and upon investigation The Register has gotten a commitment from
U.S. Attorney Robert Mosakowski to submit
the findings to a Federal Grand Jury for their
review. {Click: (Mirror
1) - (Mirror 2)}
VERY IMPORTANT:USA faces cancer epidemic and slipping rankings in
life-span rankings.
Click here(or: alternate site) for
solution. Warning: A change in diet is necessary,
but scientifically proven effective.
MISSING PERSON:(pic: Click
here or here - Note: You can
left-click in Microsoft's Internet Explorer to zoom in on pics) A young woman Ive never met contacted me (or had me contacted) ... by DREAM
messaging -over what she claimed was a very important matter. I initially thought it was a bunch of nonsense (after all, it was only a
dream), but later research by
the experts (links: Click here
or here) revealed her claims to be altogether true. In attempting to return the
message, I first tried to draw free-hand
what I saw in the dream. (Pics: Click here
or here) I was not so good of an artist, so, knowing some specific information
from my prior research, I turned to
CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) methods to draw what the young woman would probably look like at different ages. NOTE: With the exception of one
comparison photo of my father, the pics
above are *not* photographs, although my 2nd try approaches photograph-like quality. If you have information on the whereabouts of this young woman,
contact me. Any prospective
claimants must pass a genetic test to verify I.D. (Yes, the dream(s) provided that much detail, and I will run with it.)
--GWW
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
ABOUT:
This is the personal research page of Gordon Wayne Watts of LAKELAND, Florida. Mr. Watts' diverse research includes (but is not limited to) the following:
The webmaster, Gordon Watts, is one of the very few official "Star Trek: New Voyages" / "Star Trek: Phase II" mirror operators, in which the original
1969 'Star Trek' series is revived: See the appropriate section in the links bar, at top.
Much interesting POLITICAL news coverage: Taking aim at well-intended, but less-than-bright "conservatives" (such as Sean Hannity & staff) and even
"dimmer"
liberals galore. (See Political link)
Putting the research tools to use on FINANCE and ECONOMY -including a review of John Cummuta's "Turning Debt into Wealth" plan (see Finance link)
A cure for all forms of Cancer! (And, while Mr. Watts is not a doctor -and doesn't play one on TV -his research done while at FSU is FREE and
effective: At least it worked for Watts.) See the Health Section.
Human Limb Regeneration, AZT, & AIDS - Separating Fact from Fiction and Urban Legend: See the Health Section.
Studying and researching what works -and what doesn't in ROMANCE: Science and Scripture agree (see the indicated section)
Deep theological research on advanced topics: How to answer a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon that knocks on your door: Careful, they're right sometimes,
wrong other times. (See "Religion (Theology / Spiritual)" link.
Mr. Watts went to court (and took up petitions with people signing their real names and full contact data) to oppose former Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush regarding
the invasive "feeding tube" issue in the Terri Schiavo case (Translation: You liberals reading this should "be happy") -but, ironically, Mr. Watts' court
pleadings before Florida's Supreme Court almost saved Theresa Marie "Terri" Schindler-0Schiavo's life (without following a path that included feeding tubes).
Since Mr. Watts did better in court in his attempt to save Terri's life (losing 4-3) than even Jeb Bush (lost 7-0) or the immediate family (lost 2-1 in
Federal court), this is his main "claim to fame" and a reason his website is so highly rated. Explore the weird world of TRUTH, where Watts takes no
shortcuts and gets both conservatives and liberals nervous, annoyed, and angry. ("Schiavo" section coming soon -otherwise browse the website or do a Google
search.)
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
BIO:
Gordon Wayne Watts, an alumnus of Plant City (Fla.) Senior High School's class of 1984, received his Bachelor?s degree from The Florida State University with
a double major in Biological and Chemical Sciences with honors (emphasis and post-Bacc studies in genetics and forensics) and was the valedictorian from
United Electronics Institute. Watts, a non-lawyer, is best known for his lawsuit on behalf of Terri Schiavo, which lost 4-3 in the Florida Supreme Court,
arguably doing better than even then Governor Jeb Bush?s similar suit (lost: 7-0) or Terri Schiavo?s
own family?s federal case (lost: 2-1). Mr. Watts, who ran unsuccessfully for Dist. 64 Fla. House of Representatives, is an Amateur Extra (Ham) Radio Operator
(call: N2GY), a part-time political activist, and amateur HTML webmaster while he searches for a full-time job in his field. Click here (link to Higher-Ed
piece) for selected documentation of this.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
HISTORY of The Register:
Ronald L. Corbin, alumnus of Plant City (Fla.) High School's class of 1984, was the original editor and publisher of The Hillsborough
Register, which published in "hard copy" print format from 1992 until 1993, with offices located in Suite-11(Photos: map - back door - front & inside views; Left-click & Maximize to
zoom in if using Microsoft's Internet Explorer) of the shopping center at 104 West Reynolds St in Plant City and bounded by North Evers,
North Collins, and West Mahoney Streets. In January of 1993, Mr. Corbin took the advice of one of his staff writers, Gordon W. Watts, and changed the name of
the paper to The Register, as reflected in its Jan.01, 1993 (Vol.2, No.1) edition. After Ron moved out of state and closed shop, the paper
was taken over by Mr. Watts, the present owner and publisher. At present, however, the paper is mainly published online with only a few special editions
having been published in print as the occasion warranted. After The Register's Yahoo!/GeoCities web host stopped offering free web hosting,
the paper was consequently subsumed by Mr. Watts' personal websites: GordonWatts.com and GordonWayneWatts.com --where it is presently published.
Selected Back issue(s) of The Register - Fri., Jan. 01, 1993 edition
Page 8 (BACK PAGE) -
ADS: Value Mart, Fashion Alley, Mugs With Class, Back To Basics, Burris Jewlery, NICK & NACK by FRICK & FRACK, Jewelry By Pat, How'dyadothat Balloon?, Andrea
& Jennifer's House Of Scents, MUSIC SHACK, Starline Specialty Products, FLIPPO'S DAIRY CREAM, TV Products
Page 1 (FRONT PAGE) -
The Register: Vol.2.No.1 - Plant City, Fl. - FRIDAY, January 1st, 1993 - "A matter of policy," by Chad Michaels (Story on
fired Detective, Joey Wiggins) - "Quote of the Week," by Calvin Miller, from The Singer, - "Volunteers feed needy, homeless," by Ron Corbin (Story
on McCall Park event. Pictured in photo: Mike Smith, Patricia Morow, and Bob Spier. Doyle LaGrone, Sayde Martin, and Nettie Droughan helped get the word out.
- "LOBO'S: for all sports fans," by Ron Corbin (Story on local sports bar)
Pages 2-3 - EDITORIALS / COMMENTARY (Notes from the editor's desk: Editorial on Plant City Commissioner, Mike
Sparkman's comment in The Courier regarding a proposed citizen's petition and referendum on a wet zoning (alcoholic) ordinance.) - "Dump Welfare
Now," by Bill Penrose (Compares welfare with a drug and warns against addiction and withdrawal when the system goes bankrupt and can no longer feed the
addiction of welfare recipients) - AD: Superior Countertops and Cabinets
Pages 4-5 - "WORSHIP," With: Gordon Watts (Editorial on various scriptural ways one can offer acceptable and
pleasing tithes and offerings to God Almighty) - Christmas story pic - Pictured in photo: Elks member, Donnie Whittenton, who played Sant Claus to a T. -
ADS: HORIZON REALTY, ELEGANT JEWELS, PLANT CITY R.V. CENTER, LOBO'S Deli & Pub, BELL CHEVROLET, INC.
Pages 6-7 - ADS: Mary's Bead Shop, Plant City R.V. Center Inc., James and Eddie Mae Williams, DAVE'S TACK,
MEADOW'S FURNITURE, Classified Sales Ads (Computer, Colt, Amp, and Bass Guitar)
Reminder: To zoom in (in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, anyway), left-click the image that opens in a new window, and then
maximize your window.
TTY/TTD [NOTE: Teletypewriters (TTY), Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Text Telephones (TT) are special telecommunications equipment used
by people who cannot use a regular telephone due to hearing loss or speech impairment. Conversations are typed on a TTY: "TeleTYpe" aka "TTY," "TDD,"
and "TT" acronyms are used interchangeably to refer to any type of text-based telecommunications equipment used by a person who can't communicate by phone
due to hearing and/or speech impairment.]
Q: How can I find something on the website? It is so big!
A: Several solutions exist. (#1) You can look for a related link. (Example: Advice on dating and marriage is under the 'ROMANCE' heading.) (#2)
You can do a page search by going to
(for example in Internet Explorer) "Edit->Find on this Page... Ctrl+F" (#3) You can do a web search, either manually or using the search
boxes at the top, right section of
the page. (#4) You can read down the page, from top-to-bottom. (#5) If all else fails, you can ask someone, for example, you might contact me at the contacts
provided.
Q: Why did you "butt your nose" into the "private" Terri Schiavo matter?
A: This question implies you are liberal, and if so, please be advised (and be glad) that I fought against Jeb Bush on the feeding tube issue,
both in court and through a "real" petition, signed with peoples' full names and contact data -to verify its genuine nature. If you are conservative like me,
you should *also* be advised (and glad) that I almost won my case in court to save her life -doing better than all other parties -combined. ALSO: To any
'Christians' peeps out there, be advised that the denial of food and water violated JESUS' own standards He set forth for His "brethren" in Matthew 25:31-46.
This section may not address feeding tubes, but it does address food and water, and anyone that supports her starvation and/or dehydration is not obeying
Jesus' commands here. Period. It is plain English for you to read. LASTLY, to all: Regardless of your religious beliefs -or lack thereof: Any
time a law is broken (as I demonstrated in my court filings), it is *not* a private matter: Ask any convicted criminal.
Q: Why is the page so lengthy?
A: Many if not most of the links you might click link to items already on this page, so, since the page is already loaded, it merely "jumps" to the right
section, saving time and bandwidth. Plus, additional text probably raises the search engine ranking, making it easier for you to find through search
engines.
Q:
A:
Q:
A:
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
First off, here (click here) is just a snippet of my eduational qualifications. Ok, that established...
"Higher-Ed Tuition Costs: The ‘Conservative’ view is not on either extreme"
Position Paper -- A well-documented study into the U.S. Higher Ed crisis: Causes of skyrocketing tuition and declining quality of institutions
of Higher Education in America -- Proposed solutions -- Note: This research paper has many resources in the form of outside links, and it does
address Public Education, but it is primarily a resource regarding the problems, and proposed solutions, to American Higher Education.
--Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief, & Health/Science Editor, The Register
(cache 1 *
cache 2) A.S. United Electronics Institute, Valedictorian; B.S. Biological &
Chemical Sciences, The Florida State University, double major with honours
* Undecided Fla. voter, Gordon Watts, asks for clarification from six (6) presidential campaigns on issues & flip-flops:
LINK HERE.
* Fri. 11-30-2012 Breaking: U.S. Congressman exhibits pattern of bizarre behavior:
(Link)
For information on my Amicus Curiae (friend of the court brief) in the recent big "Gay Marriage" case, at the Federal Appeals court,
here is a link to the online docket with free downloads:
* COURT DOCKET
* Mirror-1 cache
* Mirror-2 cache
* Archive Today cache-1
* Archive Today cache-2
* Wayback Machine archive-1
* Wayback Machine
archive-2 *
My participation was unique in two (2) ways: First, I was the only "non-lawyer" which this court allowed to participate (so far as I know: A few
other non-lawyers were denied participation). Secondly, I was the only "pro-marriage" litigant to advocate and defend gays against mistreatment (for
example, hospital visitations, life insurance policies, etc.), while at the same time defending the 1-man, 1-woman definition of marriage (under Equal
Protection standards) arguing that polygamy, aka plural marriages, had more legal precedent, and would have to be allowed if "same sex" marriages were
allowed by the court.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
For many years, it has been unknown to the general public that all of the major
elements comprising the student lending system (i.e. lenders, collection companies, guarantors) made far more money when
students defaulted on their loans. Nevertheless, this is a fact, and it is well documented. It is most disturbing,
however, that recent analysis of the President’s Budget data reveals that even the US Department of Education, on
average, recovers $1.22 for every dollar paid out in default claims. Assuming generous collection costs, and even
allowing for a nominal time value of money of a few percent (the governments cost of money is very low), it still appears
that the federal government, even, is making a pretty penny from defaults.
How could this be possible? The primary reason for this is that unlike all other types of debt, bankruptcy
protections, statutes of limitations, and other standard consumer protections have been removed from federal student
loans, and draconian collection powers have been given to collect on hugely inflated, defaulted student loan debt.
The systemic consequences of these types of financial motivations are too numerous to describe here, but one very
significant result is that during the legislative process, when the schools, lenders, and their lobbyists pressure
Congress to raise the allowable loan limits, the Department of Education-one of the only entities available to act
in the interest of the students and call for a freezing (or even a reduction in the lending limits)- has repeatedly
failed to tell it like it is regarding defaults. The schools and lenders point and brag about the low “cohort” default
rates, but this metric (which hit a low of about 4% in 2005) masks the true default rate, which we now know was likely
25% or higher for years, and today is likely significantly higher than that.
Instead of voicing concern, or even objections to Congress in the lending limit debates, the Department of Education
remained largely silent, despite their knowledge about the true default rate for years, and in fact, press releases
about the default rate spanning years from the Department of Education speak exclusively of the cohort rate, and this
continues to this day, by and large, although media have shed some light on the true default rate in recent years.
This, again, is a key failure in oversight that effectively causes Congress to make decisions without the interests of the
borrowers being represented (Of course the lenders and schools claim to have the interests of the students at heart,
but their obvious financial motivations discount their credibility on this claim). Therefore, Congress continues
to rubber-stamp these legislative efforts, and the schools quickly raise their tuition to bump up against the new
lending ceilings.
If the Department of Education were seeing a material, financial loss with loan defaults, they likely would be far more
assertive about the reasons NOT to raise the loan limits…and this would provide a critical check on the process.
But the Department has been largely absent from these debates, and its misaligned interest is certainly the reason why.
So it must be agreed that lack of Department oversight contributes directly to repeated votes by Congress to raise the
loan limits, and we’ve already established the link between this poor oversight, and the removal of consumer protections.
So undoubtedly, the removal of standard consumer protections has effectively allowed the schools and lenders to have
their way with Congress on this issue.
Critics could argue that the established student advocacy groups should have stepped in to fill this role…and this is
obviously true…but the advocates can claim that they did not know that defaults were as high as they were (recent evidence
suggests that the true default rate exceeds 1 in 3), therefore any objections from them (assuming they did object) were
not strong. Had they known that defaults were as high as they were, one can only assume that they would have objected
far more forcefully, starting many years ago.
The current debate surrounding the cause of tuition inflation is a confusing mix of rhetoric that typically involves
fingers pointing in all directions…”like a scarecrow in the wind” …among lenders, schools, the Department of Education,
the student advocates, and Congress. But of these five entities, four were behaving as expected (i.e. schools pushing
for raising the limits, advocates wringing their hands in the absence of defensible proof that things were going awry,
lenders playing their part as the selfish, amoral entities they are understood to be, Congress debating what they are
told, and ultimately voting based upon this debate).
The Department of Education, however, failed to fulfill its role, and did not disclose to the group the true magnitude of
the default problem, as one would expect it to. Therefore the Department is clearly the party whose behavior can
ultimately be questioned with strong justification. Of course citizens have every right to be seethingly resentful and
angered by all of these actors failing to point out what was obvious…that the students were being saddled with outrageous
increases in student loan debt (I believe the advocates bear a tremendous amount of responsibility, for example), but
strictly speaking, the Department’s failure is the only one with zero defense.
This is a critical, unambiguous link that is never pointed out, but which is key- the key- to explaining the rampant
inflation we have seen in academia over the years. Congress and the president should be demanding to know why key
personnel at the Department so badly neglected to fulfill their duties, and take a hard, hard look at the corporate
culture that has enabled this sort of gross neglect of basic functions. And of course, the standard consumer protections
that should have never been removed from student loans must be returned at the earliest possible opportunity.
_______ Editor's Note: You may keep up with Mr. Collinge and his Student Loan Justice group at the following links:
*** “Student Loan Justice” web-ring:
* Nationally-recognised College Loan advocate, Alan M. Collinge, has been featured in many papers, TV, and Cable networks.
Google him if you doubt.
Mr. Collinge, who was kind enough to grant
permission for reprint/republication of his Op-Ed, here, makes some very strong claims above, such as regarding the amount of profit that the U.S.
Department of Education makes on defaulted loans, but
The Register has carefully researched his claims, and –so far as we can see –they are
correct and can easily be documented by a routine web search on the subject. His op-ed originally appeared
here on Forbes.com, on 03/19/2012, as a
guest post in Peter J. Reilly's regular column, which focused on the tax issues of individuals, businesses, as well as related financial matters. Mr.
Collinge was good enough to authorise The Register to re-publish and archive his fundamentally important analysis here, so long as it was
unaltered and re-printed in its entirety -with no additions, subtractions, or alterations to the piece (other than, of course, style and formatting
issues), and The Register felt that it would be a good precaution to archive this piece on multiple websites, not "putting all our eggs in one
basket," since it is not a widely known fact that the lack of bankruptcy protections for Student Loans was a major factor in the meteoric 'tuition
inflation' in recent decades, in spite of declining quality of America's standings in Higher Ed rankings in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering,
& Math). Mr. Collinge is the founder of StudentLoanJustice.org, a Political Action Committee
dedicated to the mission of changing unjust laws related to how student loans are handled. He is also the author of the ground-breaking
exposé, linked above.
If Donald Trump (rich and conservative), Solyndra (rich and liberal), and ALL rich-&-powerful Wall-Street bankers can file for
bankruptcy (and they don't even need it: they are rich), why not students? Read this -- re-read this -- and follow the links above.-Editor
PS - quote of the day: “The ability to file bankruptcies is the 'Economic Second Amendment,' and when colleges knew student loans were almost impossible
to discharge in bankruptcy (due to the Brunner test), the colleges and lenders knew student borrowers of college loans were unable to defend themselves—and
both parties engaged in Predatory Lending, victimising the helpless & defenseless college student borrowers with soaring & skyrocketing
tuition—price-gouging them, like one shoots 'fish in a barrel'. For this reason, (conservative) supporters of the Second Amendment should not deny college
students. Likewise, (liberal) supporters of helpless college students should be in agreement that student borrowers need the same protections as ALL OTHER
borrowers—including Credit Card users and the “über-rich,” all of whom can obtain bankruptcy discharge.”
* Headline * Co$ts of College tuition going through the
roof –unbearably high
...while quality of American Higher Education declining...Credit card users have 'Standard Consumer Protections,' but
Student loan borrowers
don't?!
Help return it to the way it was in the 1950's when American Higher Ed was TOPS in the world, and costs of college were affordable. Sign this petition to
return to proven methods that worked in the past:
Click here: ** https://wh.gov/jU8 ** It only takes 5 minutes to Register & Sign. This
just in: Please also
sign this petition
about Student Loan debt, which is the only form of debt that can not be discharged in bankruptcy.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
'BIG' Trouble with Facebook: (Fri. 23 Dec. 2011) Register editor, Gordon
Wayne Watts, a battle-hardened Internet veteran
(who has made websites from scratch, such as this one) has frustration with a routine password reset -and offers some advice about Facebook.com -in his
own words:
UPDATE: Mon. 12-26-2011 - Marishka from Facebook's User Operations just responded this morning and got my account back
online.-GWW
"On around Tue. or Wed. (13-14 Dec. 2011), I was posting on a wall, when I got an error
message, asking me to confirm my identity via confirmation code texted to my cell. Since I just had my number changed, I chose the 2nd option to have the
code sent via a 'voice' call to my landline
phone. However, as this screenshot shows, I got an error message, claiming I was "requesting
too many codes in a
short period of time," and asking my to try later. Only problem was this was my first time ever choosing that option, and furthermore, it was at the
suggestion of Facebook. I somehow found out how to
submit a bug report on the Facebook.com website, and got this email in response. They asked
for screen shots of
the issue, which I included in my reply. To help assure them that I really was the real 'Gordon Wayne Watts,' I included scanned images of
3 forms of ID, one a photo ID of my Fla Driver's License. I continued trying to follow the
directions at the login page,
sometimes getting error messages like this 'systems overload' message, at 3:37am, dated the
18th, or
this "Something went wrong" message, at 4:06am, also dated the 18th, or even
another "too many codes" message, this one at 4:32am, Dec. 18, 2011. As late as the 18th,
I still had not
heard from them, and wrote back; however, the next day, the 19th, I again contacted Facebook
through their website,
and got another email from Facebook, which said "If you still need our help, please
respond to this email
with as much information about your problem as possible. We will respond to you within three business days," and I responded. The next day, on the 20th,
Marishka, from Facebook's "User Operations"
department replied in this email here, with some basic instructions on how to gain
access to my
Facebook account once again. I followed them to a 'T' but was still unable to log in, and I kept getting error messages as before, so I responded to the
email, and included the following screen shots in the
email attachment: 1st screen shot: Their request and
1st screen shot: The end result.
Today, Fri., Dec. 23, 2011, I still can not access my Facebook account, and I keep getting error messages, and
sent this email to every known email address I have for Facebook -and then some,
including the following
screen shots in my attachment: Dec-23-update-part-1.JPG and
Dec-23-update-part-2.JPG.
What lessons can be learned? Well, it is possible (but not certain) that I was penalised for not honouring the Terms of Service, because I did get a warning
about posting excessive messages to walls, when I
was advertising my Whitehouse petition, described in other recent news. However, as the recent emails from Facebook did not reference that apparently minor
infraction, the more important take-home messages
that seem relevant here are the following:
(1) Keep your contact and recovery information up-to-date, so you don't find yourself unable to verify your account with an old cell phone number like me;
and,
(2) Even when you follow the instructions, and do your part, life has uncertainties and no guarantee of success, most especially with a 'free' web service
such as Facebook, which has no legal obligation
to offer any goods or services. (They are free, hello?)
-- Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief, The Register
"
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
This claim was made based on the fact that this 'expired'
petition regarding Evolution failed to reach the 25,000-signature threshold, and yet was still online long after it had expired. (As is shown in the
screen-shot, it had reached only 6,728
signatures by Dec. 18, 2011, even though it was created on Sept. 24, 2011 and 'expired' on Oct. 24, 2011.) It was, therefore, reasonably conjectured
that meeting the
the 'first threshold' of 150 signatures was all that was required to both stay online and be
eligible for
continued signatures: as shown in the screenshots, the 'Evolution' petition which expired on Oct. 24, 2011, was both still online at Whitehouse.gov and also
had signatures as recent as December 18, 2011.
However, when it was noticed that our petition, here had expired and been deleted, a
hasty
call was made to our legal team for analysis and review, a regarding possible Equal Protection violation of the
Right to Petition for a governmental redress of grievances. The 'tier 1' legal
team came back with the following:
Since the 'Evolution' petition was created back when the 2nd 'threshold' was only 5,000 signatures, and had
apparently met and exceeded this standard, it was "grand-fathered" in, and is awaiting an official response from The Whitehouse. Our petition, by
contrast, did not meet the 2nd threshold standard. But
something still seemed amiss, and a call was made to our 'tier 2' legal analysts to see what further analysis could be had:
Our 'tier 2' legal team brought back the following statistics: From Nov. 21, 2011, when our
petition was
created until early morning of Dec. 18, 2011, a time-stamp of our petition reveals that is
took about 27
days to meet the 'first' 150-signature threshold to 'go live' on Whitehouse.gov's website, which is a rate of about 5.556 signatures per day, or about 0.232
signatures per hour, very slow.
However, from the time our petition 'went live' at 04:20am, 18 Dec. 2011, until is was deleted
sometime
between 11:18pm, Dec. 21, 2011 and
11:27pm, Dec. 21, 2011, it went from 150 signatures to at least 444 signatures, a
net gain of
294 signatures in about 91 hours, which is a much faster rate of about 3.231 signatures per hour or 77.538 signatures a day -due to the increased visibility
to the public petitions have on Whitehouse.gov.
At his rate, it would have gotten about 2,326.2 signatures in 30 days, had it 'gone live' right away and continued to gain signatures at that same rate.
However, tier 2 legal opined that this implicated
both Constitutional Due Process and the First Amendment's
guarantee of the Right to Petition, and possibly also
Equal Protection:
For one thing, if even 'ideal' circumstances would not yield, on average, and more than 2,326.2 signatures, not even 50% of the 'lower' threshold of 5,000,
and nowhere near the current 25,000-signature
standard, then Due Process is implicated: The U.S. Supreme Court, in
Goldberg v. Kelly, 397 U.S. 254, 267 (1970),
quoting Grannis v. Ordean, 234 U.S. 385, 394 (1914), held that "The fundamental requisite of due process of law is the opportunity to be heard,"
which, apparent from the unreasonably high
signature thresholds, is not reasonably possible. This is especially true, considering that our editor, Gordon Watts,
spent $239.oo alone on a timely
PRWeb.com press release, dated 11-28-2011, well in time to "get the word
out," and which had
hundreds, if not thousands of news deliveries, as well as
over 50,000 new and web site impressions. Watts also spent
about $104.90 more for the printing costs of the approximately 3,000 "3.5x8" handbills (8.5x11
divided
into thirds) and additional posters printed and distributed at Orlando's UCF (Mon. 12-5-2011), and then at
Tampa's USF (Tue. 12-6-2011), universities in central Florida, not even counting some posters distributed at
local
businesses, and other local colleges (Florida Southern, Southeastern, and Polk Community College's USF campus), and some additional handbills and flyers
paid for with cash (about $29.92). Another approximately $60.oo was spend on two $5.oo
parking permits as well as another 50 dollars or so on food and gas. Then, to help beat the 12-21-2011
expiration
deadline, Watts bought three $25.oo Facebook ads (on 12-16 to 12-18), which all adds up to
about $508.82 spent on this petition alone, a petition to The Whitehouse regarding unbearably
high college
tuition, interest, and fees -and lack of standard consumer protections.
WIDE-SPREAD PUBLICITY
In addition to numerous posters, and easily over three-thousand (3,000) handbills passed out at 2 major central-Florida universities, Watts reports a massive
'Internet campaign' on numerous social
networks, forums, and message boards -a massive publicity campaign:
So, even with the 'ideal circumstances' such as all the wide-spread publicity had here, this well-worded petition, which was getting signatures at a rate of
about 0.232 signatures per hour could only
increase its rate to 3.231 signatures per hour, when it 'went live' on the Whitehous.gov website. Even at this 'increased' rate under optimal publicity
circumstances, it would only have gotten
about 2,326.2 signatures before it 'expired' in 30 days (e.g., 720 hours), had it 'gone live' right away on Whitehouse.gov -far short of the old 'threshold'
of 5,000 signatures, and even more-so short
of the current 25,000-signature threshold required to obtain an 'official' response from The Whitehouse.
GRIM PROGNOSIS
Therefore, it would be unreasonable to think that most petitions, even under 'ideal' circumstances could gather sufficient signatures to obtain (as the
Whitehouse puts
it) a "meaningful response" to petitions.
This high standard prevents common people from having a meaningful voice in their government. Besides the unreasonably high thresholds here, a poor person,
lacking many resources, also has to wait a
good while before 'going live' on Whitehouse.gov, due to the 1st threshold. To make a level playing-field, The Whitehouse should allow all petitions to
remain 'live' on Whitehouse.gov for the same 30-day
time-period if they meet the 1st threshold. Additionally, the 25,000 signature standard is too high for all but the most rich and powerful and connected
persons and organisations. Then, perhaps, citizens
could get meaningful 'Due Process' and the ability to Redress their Government with grievances.
One other aspect, however, *must* be analysed: If 3,000 handbills were passed out by Watts on the 5th and 6th of December, and no more than 150 signatures
were obtained by the 18th, when the petition
'went live' on The Whitehouse website, then even accounting for the fact the final exam week ended Fri., Dec. 9, 2011, that does not speak well of the
college students. Furthermore, Watts estimates that
about 50 of those signatures were by non-students whom he helped vote, and another 50 or so were from the Internet, meaning, at most, only about 50-60 of the
approximately 3,000 votes came from students
at UCF and USF. That is about a 2% batting average. Put another way, the very people who would benefit most from such a petition (and who had both computer
skills and resources at the library to help
them with the Internet if they lacked skills) were very apathetic, to the tune of about 98% apathetic.
While Watts reports that UCF and USF police, staff, and administration were very cooperative regarding his exercise of Free Speech in the 'Free Speech zones'
(getting an A+ here), the students were polar
opposites, show little, if any, cooperation, other than politely taking the flyers and thanking him in an estimated 70% to 80% of the instances he offered
students a handbill.
Watts was very discouraged, and somewhat bitter, remarking that perhaps students deserved to be crushed by obscenely high tuition, interest, and fees, and
then do without any of the Standard Consumer
Protections that credit card users have (such as the ability to file for bankruptcy; have truth in lending; statutes of limits; the right to refinance;
adherence to usury laws; and, Fair Debt & Collection
practices, etc.). When students borrowers, hit with huge fees that can drive their loan up 200% to 500% of the original, already-high amount, and are
subsequently unable to file for bankruptcy in this
bad economy, when rich bankers are getting bailed out left and right with endless bailouts, the situation is desperate. Then, for students, even now, to be
so apathetic is amazing, and was a chief factor
that Watts reported in his negative overview of students' apathy and lack of knowledge or focused action to address this mounting crisis, the next bubble to
burst in Higher Education.
The students received an 'F' grade in their apathy and lack of education on the looming Higher Ed crisis. So, what now can be done?
Without comment, here are some other petitions that are (apparently) open -- hope springs eternal with a '2nd chance':
It’s quite surprising to see that almost two-thirds of the students from all the colleges and universities in America graduate with some amount of debt
to pay off. The Institute for College Access and Success or the TICAS has found through its Project on Student Debt that an average borrower will
finish his or her college with almost $26,000 debt to pay off. Every one out of 10 graduates end up accumulating more than $40,000 in student loan
debt. To be very frank this isn’t only surprising, this is actually a scary situation for the students who desire to go for higher education without
much of monetary support. There are clear chances that the student loan debts will cripple the dreams of the graduates.
The story of a graduate who faced the onslaught of debts:
Just a year back, Karen Burger graduated from the Northeastern University. Just like any other fresh graduate, she was raring to go and have a
bright career. Her aim was to work at some faith-based nonprofit organization. Apart from the dreams, she also had $96,000 student loan debt which
she accumulated to support her five years of college. Debts came creeping in her life right after she graduated. Her career plans were crushed. To
get out of debt and the interest rate, she had to immediately opt for a teller’s job
at TD Bank. Later, she had to reach out to an Army recruiter to break free the shackles of her student loan debt. “I would never have considered it if
it weren’t for the loans,” Burger ruefully said.
You must be wondering why this story? Well, just like Karen, there are millions of other students who’re struggling to cope up with their debts
and dreams at the same time. As per the survey of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the numbers of students like Karen are only increasing with each
passing year. Just 3 years back in 2010, the overall student debt was around $826 billion. Currently, the amount is almost $1.2 trillion. There is a
whopping 45% increase. Now, you can imagine how demanding the situation is for the students who borrow to pay for higher education. A huge section
of students ultimately end up losing their dreams.
Students need to get out of it
In such a circumstance, the major question that arises is whether any solution is there for the troubled students or not. Quite unfortunately, there is
no straight answer for this. It all depends on how a student manages the debt. The president of TICAS, Lauren Asher, suggests that it’s safer to take out
government backed loans to finance higher education. It’s even convenient enough to pay off Federal student loans. Asher feels, “Half of those taking
out private loans have not maxed out on federal loans.” Quite clearly, she doesn’t support students’ dependence on private student loans.
Asher also explains the benefits that federal student loans provide. According to her, “Federal loans are subject to income-based payback, fixed interest
rates, and take nine months to default on, making them a much safer loan for students to take”. She disapproves private student loans for ruining a
student’s credit history. “Any ding in credit rating can affect [a borrower] more now than ever, even employment,” explained Asher.
What Asher wants to point is clear enough, but there is hardly any assurance that only Federal student loans will be able to save graduates from
sacrificing their career and dreams. Getting out of debt is unfortunately not that
easy a task. Not only debt, but there are increasing educational costs and unemployment also to aggravate the problems. However, as TICAS focuses on,
students need to be informed properly about consolidating debts. Whether federal or private, students must know all the details about probable repayment
options before taking out a loan. Only by selecting the right repayment option can students do away with their debts and save their dreams ultimately.
Editor's Note: The Register is not affiliated with either the writer, or her employers, so listed above, and furthermore, we do not receive
any remuneration. The views expressed are not necessarily those of The Register or its employees. However, that said, after reviewing her Op-Ed for
grammar and accuracy, the claims she makes seem to be correct -or at least, very close, with regards to the numerical analyses she provides. Nonetheless,
we wish to disagree with one small claim above: Where she says that "unfortunately, there is no straight answer for this [crippling debt problem]," we wish
to point out that The Register has previously published a detailed analysis, complete with proposed solutions which, although very
politically-difficult (and sometimes even painful) to implement, are indeed straightforward, and said proposed solutions to lawmakers (and other
governmental officials) are cross-posted to 4 mirrors:
* GordonWatts.com/Higher-Ed-Tuition-Costs.html
* GordonWayneWatts.com/Higher-Ed-Tuition-Costs.html
* ThirstForJustice.net/Higher-Ed-Tuition-Costs.html
* Gordon_Watts.Tripod.com/Higher-Ed-Tuition-Costs.html ** Click here to jump back to the top of the page.
Fiction books are a great source of entertainment. In a fiction book, unicorns can fly around on rainbows, and mermaids spend their days
talking with dolphins.
The challenge is that very few people have only been trained to understand the laws of fictional grammar. This becomes an issue because people
don’t know when a document is fiction or fraudulent vs. containing facts.
The purpose for creating a fiction book or document is to create fiction, not fact. Fiction allows the writer to use words to fabricate a
story to create an illusion. This is all well and good in a children’s story book, but when a contract, such as a mortgage, is
created in fictional grammar, a consumer can end up losing their
freedom and tremendous amounts of money.
Most consumers believe because they can read the document, it must be a factual document.
How do you create a fact within a sentence?
When you change a fact to a verb, is the fact still a fact? Or is the fact now a verb?
Is a verb a fact?
If you do not know the answers to these questions, then it is likely you would not know how to detect whether a fact exists in a document.
A simple rule of grammar is the only way to create a fact is by using a [pre]positional phrase. This is the only way to create a fact.
When you look up the word “borrower” in the dictionary, it is a noun or fact. It is not a verb.
“The borrower is responsible for making payments on time.”
In the above sentence taken from a mortgage document, the word “borrower” has been modified, and now “borrower” is a verb. The word “the” is
an adverb, making “borrower” into a verb.
As a matter of fact, the entire sentence contains not a single fact.
If a person were to enter into a written mortgage agreement with the above sentence, it would be no different than entering into a mortgage contract
in which they agree they will produce unicorns to fly around rainbows because the entire sentence contains zero facts and only contains fiction which
is not a fact.
Editor's Note: There was some confusion among readers about calling “borrower” a verb; the writer has been gracious enough to clarify this point
stating that: "TAFCR specializes in factual laws of grammar, and, in the comment, [The Register is] speaking of fictional grammar, which is how we talk in
day to day conversation. In factual grammar, [the word in question in the] sentence [above] is a verb."
** Click here to jump back to the top of the page.
ARCHIVED: News Coverage & Editorial of U.S. House races in Fla. Districts 11 & 12: {Click: (Mirror 1) - (Mirror 2)}Thr 05 Nov '09 -I thank freshman Senator, George LeMieux (R-FL) for 'following'
my Twitter page in
this screen shot (click here) of our respective pages.
SCRATCH THAT: I made a mistake:
Sen. LeMieux is not "following" me, but rather "being followed": Sorry for my mistake - I am still new to Twitter, but I shall leave this item posted as an
archived news item.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
Thursday, 19 June 2008 BREAKING NEWS:
Thursday, 19 June 2008 More BREAKING NEWS:
Gordon Watts to run for State Congress
"Write-in" for RON PAUL may not count
LAKELAND, FL (The Register) June 19, 2008 - "Exclusive" to The Register: The Ron Paul
presidential campaign (1-800-RON-PAUL) has just now informed The Register of its thoughts on a "write in" campaign for Ron Paul's presidential
bid, in response to a Register inquiry whether he was properly registered as a "write-in" candidate in all 50 states. Jesse, who sees Rep. Paul on a
daily basis, informed this reporter that Dr. Paul, who has suspended his campaign, is not registered as a write in candidate in some
states, due chiefly to the requirement by some states that a candidate for a major
party agree to not run as a 3rd party candidate.
What this means in "plain English" is simple: Ron Paul supporters who attempt to "write in" his name will void their votes if they live in any of those
states where he is not properly registered to be a "write in" candidate, thus the conventional wisdom suggests that a Ron Paul supporter might, instead, cast
his or her vote for a properly registered 3rd party candidate. The leading 3rd parties and candidates most closely aligned with
Dr. Paul's political views are as follows:
* CONSTITUTION PARTY: Chuck Baldwin (Florida), Presidential Nominee; Darrell Castle (Tennessee), Vice Presidential
Nominee
* GREEN PARTY: No declared candidate as yet
* INDEPENDENT PARTY (in some states) / INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE: Ralph Nader (Connecticut), Presidential Nominee; Matt
Gonzalez (California), Vice Presidential Nominee
* LIBERTARIAN PARTY: Former Congressman Bob Barr (Georgia), Presidential Nominee; Wayne Allyn Root (Nevada), Vice
Presidential NomineeRegister editor-in-chief, Gordon Watts, requested that Jesse ask Dr. Paul to issue a public statement press release about his write-in status, so
that voters (in particular, Ron Paul supporters) might be better informed when deciding whether a write-in of Ron Paul would be a wasted vote. Watts also
asked Jesse to put in a request that
Dr. Paul give his supporters options and information about other properly-registered candidates -and possibly endorse
one.
We are expecting the Paul campaign to issue a public statement soon, in response to our inquiry, to address these matters.
(Editor's note: The statement that this was an "exclusive" to The Register was based on the fact that, to our knowledge, no other news source,
to date, has addressed the
"write-in" eligibility issue of Dr. Paul.)
Gordon Watts to run for State Congress
LAKELAND, FL (The Register) June 19, 2008 - Register editor-in-chief, Gordon Watts, has, just today, announced his run for the House of
Representatives, District 64
of "Imperial" Polk County, Lakeland, Florida.
Late last night, Register researchers discovered that Florida's primaries are not closed in some instances -such as the present situation
in the Dist. 64 House race,
being vacated by Incumbent, Dennis Ross, who is prevented by term limits from running again. This race features Republicans Jack English, Kelli Stargel, and
Phil Walker, big names in the
Republican politics of Lakeland and "Imperial" Polk County; however, to date, there has not been a Democratic candidate.
This situation, in which no Democratic challenger has stepped forward, effectively means that the primary winner would win the open seat -by default -and
result in a winner who was not voted
on by anyone but registered Republican voters.
Florida lawmakers, however, allow the Republican primary to be "open" to all voters -including registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters -in this
circumstance, using the logic that all voters must be able to vote for a candidate. Some are opposed to the law, however, saying that it is a primaries
should not be open to outsiders -since they are not a member of the party.
Still others suggest that if the Democrats (who are the minority party in conservative-leaning POLK) are not brave enough to field a candidate, then they
have no moral high ground to demand to be able to vote in the otherwise closed Republican primaries.
However, a "loophole" in the law would close the primaries -and shut out Democrat voters if an eligible "write in" candidate declared his candidacy for the
post. This law was written to
allow the "write-in" candidate to face a "properly" chosen candidate in the general election.
ENTER GORDON WATTS: Mr. Watts, discovering this loophole, was outraged that the "openness/closedness" of a primary could be affected by a mere "write-in"
candidate, someone who doesn't have to pay a filing fee at all. Thus, Watts filed as a "write in" just today, in order to bring this problem to light. Watts
feels that the primary process
should not be so delicate and sensitive to this situation -where just any "write in" candidate, without paying a filing fee, could change the primary rules
"on a whim," as was quoted as
saying.
The "write in" process was made free because the lawmakers envisioned the government getting out of control, and wanted to keep the doors open to all
candidates -even those who do not have many financial assets. While Watts agrees with this -and is running on the platform of "election law change," he feels
that the primaries should either
be open or closed -but not both, and not dependant on the actions of a non-party member -such as is the case today.
For an official statement from Gordon Watts on where he stands on the issues, please visit his official campaign page:
* Monday, 22 January 2007 -ERATTA:The Register makes news
typo: Hillary not dishonest regarding intentions; See link for retraction.
* Saturday, 20 January 2007 -BREAKING NEWS:Hillary Clinton Caught
In Embarrassing Public LieMAIN MIRROR ~
ALT. MIRROR ~
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
(POLITICS) SEAN HANNITY SECTION: UPDATE: Sat 10 Oct '09 - Lee Kington bans yet another forum poster from Sean Hannity's forum, in
violation of Hannity forum rules which allow
disagreement if personal life is not attacked. Click here. (If
her website is attacked as this one
was, a cached screenshot is here
or here.) ALERT - Mon, 28 Sept 2009 - One day after Lee Kington's
complaints about this web-ring, an unknown
entity visited this website 9,239 times within about a one hour period (Click here
or here) in what appears to be a 'Denial of Service'
Attack on this webring. Due to his vocal
opposition to bad press from this webring, Kington is the only suspect while CableOne, our ISP, and the proper authorities investigate this. Kington was in
public suspicion on
a prior occasion
(cached: here or
here) as well. UPDATE - SAT, 26 Sept 2009 - Disagreeing with Obama is O.K. Disagreeing with Sean Hannity, even
repesctfully, can get you
banned (link
Cache: here
or here) from Hannity forum.
Moderator, Lee Kington, violated forum rules, as
explained here
or here.
NEW:The Forum
Rules are cached here
or here in case they take them down or deny them. UPDATE - Thr, 24 Sept 2009 - New evidence emerges that Hannity 'live call-in' radio program has
"pre-recorded," not 'live' callers.
Click here or here.
Tue, 22 Sept 2009 -SEAN HANNITY
Call-Screener deems callers Health Care
question too hard: In what is one of the strangest news items of recent, Sean Hannity (1-800-941-SEAN)
call-screener, Lynda
McLaughlin, dissed (verbally insulted) pro-life icon, Gordon Watts (editor of GordonWayneWatts.com), of Lakeland, Florida, regarding his
recent legal defense of Terri Schiavo,
and then deemed his healthcare question as too hard for her show host, Sean Hannity. To see documentation of this (including audio of the call in question)
-and hear Mr. Watts side of the
story, click here
or here. - Look for news coverage (click
here) by reporter, Debra J.M. Smith (official websites: here
and here). Informing
Christians archives (click here)
*and* Watts interview archived on this website (click
here). Plus, new team
member here.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
Religion (Theology / Spiritual): NEW: In this section: My Testimony
of how I 'got saved' (see below) --
ALSO: In this section -commentary
on the recent ABC news story on
'Reincarnation' boy who said he lived a "past life" as a WWII pilot -and 'Is the Bible true?' ~ Also: Answers to theology
questions, such as "IS Jesus
worthy of God's worship," and "IS JESUS the same person as Michael the Archangel?" --
Also: Angels on Assignment: A critique of the
Melodyland School of Theology
paper by the late Dr. J. Rodman Williams, Ph.D.: (Main Link) or (Alt.
Link) His wife informs me he passed away this past October. I am sorry that I could not show my proper respect by writing my reply to your paper while
you were still with us. God rest your
soul, Dr. Rodman, and may you be blessed in your continued activities in Heaven.
* My Testimony: How I 'got saved' (by Gordon Wayne Watts: How you can get saved too)
(Main Link) ~ (Alt. Link)
* Rapture: Mid-Week, but Pre-Trib -- Dr. Chuck Hollowell, of Plant City, Florida's "Victory Baptist" church,
recently preached a sermon, in which he lined up New & Old Testament passages on the timing of the rapture. The 'time line' was impossible to read until
you lined up all the passages together (letting Scripture interpret Scripture), and then it seemed all but certain that the rapture would occur in the
middle of Daniel's week, but before things got real ugly, in other words, before the 'Great' Tribulation. Don't take my word for it - The links below are
for my sermon, based on Dr. Hollowell's sermon, in which I added Scriptures that I thought could clarify, and I used my own 'chart' formatting system
for the notes:
* UPDATE as of Thr. 03-17-2011: https://www.OnlineCollegeDegrees.net/theology is being added to The
Register's theology section, at the request of Candice Vaughn, the webmaster / website Content Manager for: OnlineCollegeDegrees.net. NOTE: This website
for this page/link is apparently a
commercial website, offering online college degrees, and The Register is not a big fan of online degrees, but with skyrocketing tuition, it can't be
much worse. CAVEAT: The Register is
not being paid to advertise this link -and the link is being offered 'as is' for informational purposes as a link / page for "Great Christian Resources,"
with no warranties or guarantees.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
New: 'Angels on Assignment' section
Because of renewed interest in Rev. Roland H. Buck's book -and because of NEW DEVELOPMENTS, here is a new section to keep up with
updates.
HALF-TIME - Opposing Team's view: "ANGELS ON ASSIGNMENT: A Paper From Melodyland School of Theology" (by Dr. J. Rodman Williams, Ph.D.) Critical Paper
Available at: CBN.com
Cached snapshot saved at: The Register's main mirror and
The Register's alternate mirror
HALF-TIME - Home Team's view: "Angels on Assignment: A critique of the Melodyland School of Theology paper by Dr. J. Rodman Williams, Ph.D." (by Gordon Wayne
Watts, A.S., B.S.) Supportive Paper
Available at: The Register's main mirror and
The Register's alternate mirror Printer-friendly version: The Register's main mirror
and
The Register's alternate mirror
THIRD QUARTER - 3. "When Angels Speak: Roland Buck on Assignment," by Timothy Holt (Rev. Buck's great nephew -which contains unpublished sermons of Roland
Buck and messages on the Blood of Jesus
which were given to him from God directly and through the Angel Gabriel)
Available at: RolandBuck.com
Available at: Amazon.com
Available through: AHigherLife.com's 'Store' Link through a search by name
Available through: AHigherLife.com's
Online Store other Link through a search by name
FOURTH QUARTER - 4. "Life Teachings of Roland H. Buck: the collection of Roland H. Buck?s last 67 sermons transcribed," by Timothy Holt (Although these are the rough-draft notes, and
not the published book in #3 above, these notes are the apparently word-for-word, verbatim transcription of all 67 of Rev. Buck's last sermons plus the 68th
sermon at his eulogy. These notes, in the
opinion of the webmaster, are complete and correct, and, by verbal permission of the author, Timothy Holt, I am providing them online for free --with the
understanding that the author has asked me to make
sure the reader understands that these notes are *not* the published and copyrighted book available for resale above; these notes are provided for private,
non-profit use to the reader, with permission
from the copyright holder.) Fri. 13 July 2012 - UPDATE: Timothy has just contacted me and informed me
that he did not actually have permission from the
copyright holders of these sermons, and thus I am taking them down. IF, however, you want copies of the sermons (audio recordings and possibly also
transcripts - I am not certain), I would recommend you
contact Rev. Buck's old church, (Boise) Central Assembly, and click on either the 'Books
& CD's' link or the 'Contact' link to make your
requests known. I apologise for any inconvenience here. On my honour, this mistake was not intentional: Timothy has informed me that Roland's set of sermons
actually belongs to Charm Buck and
Whitaker House.~Webmaster, Gordon Wayne Watts
Webmaster's Note: We are *INDEED* in the '4th Quarter' of the game -in these end times / last days, and the clock is just about the strick midnight! (And it
may strike *sooner* for *YOU* if
you die before Jesus returns!)
FREE Online COPY (mirror 1) -
FREE Online COPY (mirror 2) - (Note: This webmaster spoke to Teresa on
Thursday, 22 July 2010, and she gave her verbal
permission for all the free online copies of her book to be published for personal and non-profit use. It is, as she said it, getting the message out, and
that is what counts.)
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
I was 8 months pregnant,
married and asleep when at midnite a loud pounding on our front door.
My husband proceeded to answer
the door and it was my brother in law (his brother) who came barging in
saying "OMG, Cyndi's mom's house is on fire and they think her brother is
trapped in it!"
I flew out of bed, the best I
could, considering I was XTRA XTRA huge from pregnancy! My husband comes in
to the bedroom and says "Stay here, I will go see whats going on!"....I
said, "NO! What about my brother? I have to go"....he said "NO, STAY HERE
>...I will come back to get you!" (You have to know my brother is
only 11 months older than I and was born blind. I knew my mom worked third
shift and would not have been home....but my 20 year old brother, blind,
would have been home as it was midnite)
I struggled out of bed....and
all I had on was a slip as it was extremely hot and we did not have
airconditioning. As my husband exited the bedroom and around the
corner I was about 5 feet behind him. As I got around the corner and
at the top of the step, I sat on the top step to take a deep breath. WHen I
looked up...a woman was standing there.
SHe was all dressed in burgundy
, a suit. An older woman with reddish colored hair. (sort of burgundy
also, lol)
She says, "Its ok honey, I will
take you. Everything is fine."
She then said..."Come on , I
will help you dress and we will go down."
(In my mind I was thinking "who
is this woman?" she must have come with my brother in law...or followed him
to our home? But it didnt matter to me as she was going to help me and take
me there.)
This woman walks into our
bedroom and proceeds to go to the CHEST OF DRAWERS and remove a maternity
top and shorts for me, as well as socks. I hurridly got dressed and
followed her down the steps and out the door to her car. She obviously
had money as she had a beautiful huge cadillac with burgundy rust interior.
Very plush.
She drove down the main road
towards my mom's home. (only 3 miles away)...there was tons of firetrucks,
ambulances, etc.
I was crying and said..."My
brother is blind"...
she said "Don't worry
honey, your brother is safe. You will see for
yourself."
SHortly she pulled over into
the parking lot across from my mom's house...it was a hardware shop. I
got out of her car and "ran" across the street and my husband and his
brother were standing right there in front of the house.
My husband looked up and
said...."How did you get here"?
I said "The lady that came with
MIchael" (my brother in law)
and Michael said "Hunh? Nobody
came with me"
I turned to point to the woman
and her car. IT was gone. COmpletely gone. The entire
street was roadblocked as my mom's house was on property that shared the gas
station and it was feared for an explosion....the woman and her car where
nowhere in site. NO possible way that woman could have driven her car in and
around the barricades that were set up and certainly no possible way for
that woman to have exited that quickly, either. That woman was my
guardian angel.
Upon thinking, that woman would
have had to pass my husband as he was exiting our house as she was coming
in. He did not see any woman there.
Neither my husband , nor
my brother in law, said that any other car was in our driveway.
(Her car WAS in our driveway as she guided me to it.)
I remembered her going to my
Chest of Drawers to help me dress. How did this woman know that MY
clothes were kept in the tall chest of drawers instead of the long dresser
with mirrors? (most women take the long dresser w mirror and the men use the
chest of drawers. But because my husband wore uniforms to work...he needed
more space so he would have the long dresser and drawers and I took the
short 4 drawer chest of drawers for mine.)
Burgundy. The color
burgundy. Everything was burgundy. THe womans hair, her shoes, her
purse, her suit, her car. Why didnt that click? Burgundy and pink were
the colors of my wedding only 9 months earlier. Burgundy and Maroon
was my favorite color. That woman was my guardian
angel.
As for my brother? Well, he was
not in the house fire. My mom lost everything. Her home, which contained all
of my childhood relics and memories, burned completely to the ground. It was
a vicious electrical fire that spread through the wiring and walls
rapidly. Little did we know that after my mom would leave for her
third shift work, he would also leave the house and visit with his secret
girlfriend....the young divorced woman next door.
The next morning, a picture
appeared in our local newspaper. A fireman was holding the completely
charred remains of my mom's dresser drawer. Lying in that drawer was
all of my mom's photo albums and loose pictures. Not a single one received
so much as a speck of smoke damage. Lying on top...was the Holy
Bible.
Written by, Cyndi
Caron ItsMeCyndi@comcast.net Londonderry,
New Hampshire (Saturday, 11 September 2004, 20:40:37 EDT)
Webmaster asks: How'd that woman know the fate of your brother, Cyndi?
to which Cyndi replied: She WAS my guardian angel :-)
Here's my angel story.
It was 1975 and I was living in Alabama and engaged to a guy who had a brother named Jeffery(*) who lived in
Devil Hills, NC. Jeff had a job doing custom
carpentry on boats. He was about to be married to a very fine, Christian lady. Jeff was a wonderful person, a real Christian. He loved his church (The
Rock Church in Manteo) and he and his fiancee
were active in youth ministry. I knew that Jeffery prayed for all his family members, including us as we prepared to drive the 16-17 hrs. to see him get
married. We always said that Jeff and God had
a special communication.
It was a hard trip and we took turns driving so that we didn't have to stop. We had no problems getting past Raleigh but we were really
tired by the time we reached the easternmost
area below Albermarle Sound. We decided to try a short cut through some rural areas to save some miles but we were unsure we were going the right way plus
we were so exhausted we couldn't stay
awake. It must have been 2-3 a.m. We pulled over to the side of the road and were asleep in 2 minutes. Now this was way out in nowhere and there was
nobody on the road. When we awoke it was
daylight and the car wouldn't start. We realized we had fallen asleep with the lights on and the battery was dead! We had to get to Kill Devil Hills by a
certain time. Nobody had cell phones
in those days and according to the map the nearest town was at least 10 miles. We were getting upset. Within a minute or two a blue Thunderbird with a
white top flew past and pulled over in
front of us. A big, tall man got out and came back to our car window, and said something like, "Got a dead battery, huh?" Well, it didn't occur to me at
the time to wonder how he knew that. We could
have been out of gas but he seemed to know without asking. I was so happy someone was helping us that I didn't think about the details at the time. We told
him we were on the way to a wedding
and were worried about getting there on time. We told him we weren't sure where we were. He told us to follow him and that when we came to a crossroads to
turn right.
So away we went with the T-Bird just flying and we had to floor our Camaro to stay with him but we did and we could see him clearly in front
of us. Then, about 6-7 miles along the
road the Thunderbird just disappeared. One second it was there and then there was nothing but road in front of us. It wasn't foggy or raining, it was a
clear morning. Then we came to the
crossroads. We could see pretty far in 4 directions but he was nowhere in sight. We figured he must have taken off like a rocket to get away that fast!
When we got to Kill Devil Hills we told everyone about the incident. As we expected Jeffery said he had been praying for us and asking the
angels to watch over us on the
trip. Someone heard his prayers. The wedding was beautiful and the family, some of whom came from as far away as Seattle, all had a wonderful visit.
Years passed and I forgot about the
incident until I started reading books about angels and how they sometimes help stranded motorists. Helping us get to that wedding was pretty important. I
read that sometimes angels appear as
angels but other times seem ordinary enough that it isn't until later that people realize who they were. I also read how they sometimes have a sense of
humor. That's true. The last thing I
remember seeing on the back of that blue Thunderbird was the emblem on the trunk. Remember the T-bird emblem? It's a pair of WINGS.
(*) Some name detail(s) have been changed at the request of the author.
Submitted by: Nancy S. SecretGarden260@msn.com Williamsburg, Virginia (Friday, 05 August 2011, 04:57:27 P.M.
EDT)
Webmaster's comments: If the driver was following the T-Bird, they would both be paying attention to it, to make sure and not get lost, so her testimony that
they saw it disappear is compelling. This
writer knows the author of this story and trusts her, so her testimony is credible. Also, the driver of the Thunderbird had no way of knowing what was wrong
(other than supernatural knowledge), and so his
comment about a dead battery, combined with the unexpected disappearance and the type of car he was driving (one with wings in its logo) is too much to
explain by chance. Image submitted by author
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
ROMANCE:
For information on my research into love and romance (what makes it work -- what has been shown to NOT work), check out my research page:
* Main mirror - Alt.
mirror 1
- Alt. mirror 2 .
For information on my Amicus Curiae (friend of the court brief) in the recent big "Gay Marriage" case, at the Federal Appeals court,
here is a link to the online docket with free downloads:
* COURT DOCKET
* Mirror-1 cache
* Mirror-2 cache
* Archive Today cache-1
* Archive Today cache-2
* Wayback Machine archive-1
* Wayback Machine
archive-2 *
My participation was unique in two (2) ways: First, I was the only "non-lawyer" which this court allowed to participate (so far as I know: A few
other non-lawyers were denied participation). Secondly, I was the only "pro-marriage" litigant to advocate and defend gays against mistreatment (for
example, hospital visitations, life insurance policies, etc.), while at the same time defending the 1-man, 1-woman definition of marriage (under Equal
Protection standards) arguing that polygamy, aka plural marriages, had more legal precedent, and would have to be allowed if "same sex" marriages were
allowed by the court.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
HEALTH: VERY IMPORTANT:USA faces cancer epidemic and slipping rankings in
life-span rankings -as well as an obesity epidemic. (Does milk really do the body good?) Also, Type-2 Diabetes, previously known as 'Adult Onset
Diabetes' *now* appears in children in alarming
rates. Click here(or: alternate mirror 1 or: alternate mirror 2) for solution.
Warning: A change in diet is necessary, but scientifically proven effective. Stuff the government and mainstream media refuses to tell you, as they are
influenced by the power of such as the dairy industry: Information on Milk, Meat, and Health Diet info - why cow milk is not good for HUMANS - nor is dog or
cat milk -so click on the research links above.More Research on Milk risks:Main link - mirror 1 - mirror 2
For a dissenting view, in opposition to the pro-vegan arguments made in the prior links here, see Denise
Minger's RawFoodSOS.com page, in which she spars
with Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of TheChinaStudy.com. I do not know either of these people, "in
real life," but Denise was kind enough to let
me posts several VERY long and critical screeds against her view: https://RawFoodSOS.com/the-china-study --
https://RawFoodSOS.com/2010/08/06/final-china-study-response-html/ -- and even on her contact page:
https://RawFoodSOS.com/contact. (My posts are close to the very bottom of the page, and I 'let
loose' on her and her pro-meat, pro-milk peeps!
Even though I disagree with Denise, I can say that she is impressive for at least three (3) things:
(-1-) Very bright; (-2-) Very hard-working & dedicated (even to the point of being able to out talk ME in forum, no easy
feat
(-:/ --saying she is verbose is an understatement LOL), and (-3-) She is kind enough to let me post a respectful but firm dissent,
sharply disagreeing with her conclusion that a meat
& dairy diet is A-OK. Oddly enough, Denise has not responded to my posts, but my web tracker implies or suggests that she probably visited my page to look at
it --which is a sign of any good scientist
and/or researcher: Doing your homework & gathering facts is what the scientific model is all about.
More health research from The Register:
* The AZT-AIDS connection is investigated -and challenged: Both sides to this controversy: MAIN LINK - MIRROR
1 - MIRROR 2
* Human limb regeneration! -- Is it real!? Lacking proof, here, rather, is evidence: Like FOX brags, we report; you decide: MAIN LINK - MIRROR 1 - MIRROR 2
** APRIL MATHIS, 'World's Strongest Woman', with World Records in the SHW div. of RAW Powerlifting
April Mathis is presently ranked as 'The World's Strongest Woman' by virtue of the fact that she holds the all-time World Records in the Super-Heavyweight
division of RAW (unequipped, e.g., belt & wrist
wraps only) powerlifting with world records in the squat: 615-lbs., bench press: 415-lbs., deadlift: 580-lbs., and total: 1610-lbs at 254-lb. bodyweight. (In
all fairness, Becca Swanson also hold's the
title of 'World's Strongest Woman,' but Becca lifts in the equipped division. April is presently training to break the equipped records as well.) April's new
website is dedicated towards the sport of
competitive powerlifting, strength training, and performing feats of strength once thought to be impossible. Here are some resources to find out more
about April:
* (
Google Search ) --
(
Yahoo! Search ) --
(
Google 'Video' Search ) --
(
Yahoo! 'Video' Search ) * Official Training log of April Mathis:SuperTrainingGym.com/forums/index.php/topic/1074-april-mathis-training-log(Training Log)
* April's Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AMathis01 -
Her YouTube: https://YouTube.com/AMathis01 Editor's Note: I have trained with April at Deb's Gym, here in Lakeland, and she is not only very smart regarding powerlifting, but she is also a
genuinely nice person, always willing to help me with my lifting technique and program, which was
useful when I started back lifting after a long layoff. To
prove that I really know April: Here is file-footage of what happened after we got into some sort of argument: We settled it the only way known
to warriors: An arm-wrestling contest. (YouTube vid: 'I challenge World's Strongest
Woman to arm-wrestling contest: Best 2 out of 3') - (Cache 1:
Right-click to save) - (Cache 2: Right-click to save)
Do not let her difficulty here mislead you: She is VERY strong, and this was my first loss to a woman in my adult life, even after many worthy challengers; I
have since retired
from arm-wrestling on the advice of my trainers. April is as smart as she is strong -and a good neighbour as well. --Editor, Gordon W. Watts
** D Wizard of Abs, simply referred to as D, is on a mission is to create a healthier and fit world. Immersed in sports as a child he later
went on to briefly play professional football in
the NFL. He sustained an injury which put him out of the game for good. Disappointed, he picked himself up. He found himself in the gym training others. It
was there he discovered his gift of being able to
make huge impacts on people’s lives. Exercises that seem virtually impossible, he executes. He makes what seems impossible, possible! “Like a calm wind,
I will positively touch the world. Attempt to
get in my way and that wind becomes mighty, destroying whatever is in its path!” Youtube.com/DWizardofabs ~ Facebook.com/DWizardofabs ~
Twitter.com/DWizardofabs ~ https://www.facebook.com/DWiz1on1
** Eric Cressey is also an expert in the field of strenth exercise:
EricCressey.com - His Facebook is: HERE.
I purchased the following product from him, and all indicators are that it is high quality: ShowAndGoTraining.com/. He works with,
among other people, many professional baseball players. His professional website is: CresseyPerformance.com.
RECAP on the main body of health research:Main link - mirror 1 - mirror
2(Yes, it was worth repeating.)
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
FINANCE:
For information on my research into the very important subject of Money and Finance$ (and news coverage on John Cummuta's "Turning Debt into Wealth"
plan), check out this
research page:
* Mirror-1
* Mirror-2
* Archive Today
* Wayback Machine
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
LEGAL, Copyright, Terms & Conditions for The Register: by Gordon Wayne Watts | Terms of Use:
There are no trademarks, except where indicated. I published my website for people to read, and thus, it is *not* logical or reasonable for me to lay down
any "terms" or "conditions" for people to follow -other than the very bare-minimum basics: you may advertise & link to my website, and you may also print
out, copy, use, and publish these materials yourself. The only thing asked is that you give attribution as follows:
We ask that you state that the materials obtained herein came from The Register and its editor, Gordon Wayne Watts,
citing as your sources the main and alternate links for The Register, e.g., GordonWayneWatts.com, GordonWatts.com, and
Gordon_Watts.Tripod.com. That is all.
*Gordon A. Watts (not me), a Canadian Genealogist, who writes for the online magazine, The
Global Gazette; His official website appears to be here:
* https://globalgenealogy.com/globalgazette/authors/authgw.htm. He
also has a personal website,
the POST 1901 CENSUS PROJECT, dedicated to "Open the door to Canada's Historic Census."
(It appears that I am not the only "Gordon Watts,"
who has taken on the powers that be.)
*G. Gordon Watts with sons, Dave and Gordon Watts, Jr. This story in
the March 25, 1999 issue of the Harvard University Gazette seems self-explanatory, with
its title, "G. Gordon Watts Professorship of Music Established."
*Gordon Wayne Watts, A.S., B.S., electronic technologist, biologist, chemist; with a double major, B.S., with honors,
in Biological and Chemical
Science, (FSU, class of 2000), and an A.S. in Electronics Technology, United Electronics Institute
(Valedictorian, class of 1988). However, I am
probably best-known for my involvement in the Terri Schiavo ordeal:
* STATE INVOLVEMENT:Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
* FEDERAL INVOLVEMENT:Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
After we were roundly defeated in state court, in what appeared to be a pre-determined outcome, we went to federal court. I am listed on page 17 of 25 of the
official court opinion, a
large PDF file: https://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200511628.pdf.
(A copy of the court's file, here: Case No. 05-11628 or
here: Case No. 05-11628.)
The Tampa Tribune also published another opinion from
this court, here, listing me as one of the interested parties. The
rest, as they say, is history.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
*New 'Terri Schiavo' section (Full name: Theresa Marie 'Terri'
Schindler-Schiavo aka 'The Florida Woman on the feeding
tube')
Published on: Sunday, 22 May 2011 ** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
This page is maintained by Gordon Wayne Watts, a non-lawyer, who is best known for his lawsuit on behalf of Terri Schiavo[1], which lost 4-3 in the Florida
Supreme Court, arguably doing better than even
then Governor Jeb Bush's similar suit[2] (lost: 7-0) or Terri Schiavo's own family's federal case[3] (lost: 2-1). Mr. Watts, who ran unsuccessfully for Dist.
64 Fla. House of Representatives[4],
is a part-time political activist while he searches for a full-time job in his field.
Contemporary legal scholars are amazed that Watts, a non-lawyer, could almost win a court case on behalf of Terri Schiavo.
Mr. Watts, of Lakeland, Florida, received a Bachelor's degree from The Florida State University with a double major in Biological and Chemical Sciences with
honors and was the valedictorian from United
Electronics Institute.
Synopsis -- short version: Terri Schiavo, the famous 'Florida feeding tube' woman, collapsed and fell into a coma in 1990,
and she was temporarily hooked up to a feeding
tube to feed her while she was unconscious. Many contemporary scholars believe that she was kept on a feeding tube merely for the convenience of the nursing
staff, even after she regained sufficient
consciousness to possibly eat. After about 15 years on a feeding tube, however, she became unable to eat, due to lack of use of the muscles involved in
eating. CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, she was not
hooked up to all kinds of life-support machines (no heart-lung, dialysis, or respirator machines, for example) -only a feeding tube, and we believe that was
put in only for convenience purposes, but after
15 years on a feeding tube, it would be hard to wean her off of it suddenly -- those things take time.
* If you were upset that Gov. Jeb Bush stuck his nose into the Schiavo matter, then you should be happy and not complain to me about my involvement in the
Schiavo case: I fought very hard against Jeb Bush's
legal filings.
* If, however, you are pro-life, and wanted Terri to live, then you should *also* be happy and not complain to me about my involvement in the Schiavo case: I
lost my pro se bid to save Terri by a 4-3
margin, picking up 42.9% of my panel's vote, in Florida's Supreme Court. My case, SC03-2420, is shown below. Florida Governor, Jeb Bush, by contrast, went
before the same court in case number SC04-925.
Bush's rehearing, unlike mine, was denied by a 7-0 margin, picking up 0.0% of his panel's vote. Thus, my experience and ability to speak with some
credibility is shown by the fact that I did markedly
better in his rehearing before the same panel than Bush. I am also listed on page 17 of 25 in this Federal Court's opinion: case No. 05-11628, before the
11th Circuit Court of Appeal in Atlanta, GA.
Related case here in the Tampa Tribune. David Gibbs, III, of the Christian Law Firm, representing Terri Schiavo's parents and siblings, lost 2-1 in Federal
Court, --in his attempt to save Terri Schiavo,
only garnering 33.3% of his panel's vote.
Note: The court brief listed above, in the 'Legal Aspects' section, is styled in the United States Supreme Court, but I am listing it instead of the
brief referenced in SC03-2420, the Florida Supreme
Court case, since the U.S. Supreme Court brief was patterned after the State case --and a slightly more-improved version.
* Footage of Terri shortly before her death -- Was Terri 'PVS'(*) or not? We report, you decide:
'Conversation With Terri' - Mirror 1 --
'Conversation With Terri' - Mirror 2 (*)'PVS' stands for 'Persistent Vegetative State' or sometimes: 'Permanent Vegetative State' -- Basically it means brain-dead,
unconscious, or unresponsive, depending on the
context, and whether it is a legal, medical, or colloquial term. PS: If you want a copy of this video footage of Terri's conversation with her father, right-click on the links above, and select 'save as,' and save to
your favourite folder.
"First, they [Nazis] came for the Jews. I was silent. I was not a Jew. Then they came for the Communists. I was silent. I was not a Communist. Then they came
for the trade unionists. I was
silent. I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for me. There was no one left to speak for me." (Martin Niemöller, given credit for a quotation in
The Harper Religious and Inspirational
Quotation Companion, ed. Margaret Pepper (New York: Harper &Row, 1989), 429 -as cited on page 44, note 17, of Religious Cleansing in the American Republic,
by Keith A. Fornier, Copyright 1993,
by Liberty, Life, and Family Publications.
(Some versions have Mr. Niemöller saying: "Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant," and yet other versions have
him saying that they came for the
Socialists, Industrialists, schools, the press, and/or the Church; however, it is certain that he did say something along these lines. Actually, they may not
have come for the Jews first,
as it's far more likely they came for the prisoners, mentally handicapped, and other so-called "inferiors" first -as historians tell us -so they could get
"practiced up"; however, they
did come for them -due to the silence of their neighbors -and due, in part, to their own silence. So the general idea is correct: "Speak up
now, or forever hold your
peace." --Gordon)
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Things are not always what they seem...” (Phaedrus)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and
corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers
conquered.” (Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes)
“Any truth is better than indefinite doubt. (Sherlock Holmes, “The Yellow Face” Arthur Conan Doyle)
“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered.”
(Thomas Jefferson, attributed)
“It is a capital mistake to theorise before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” (Sherlock Holmes: “A Study in Scarlet,” by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
Sherlock Holmes Quote -A Scandal in Bohemia
“How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” (Sherlock Holmes:
“The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 6, p. 111, by Arthur Conan Doyle)
“Eliminate all other factors, and the one which remains must be the truth.” (Sherlock Holmes: “The Sign of Four,” 1890, Chap. 1, p. 92, by Arthur Conan
Doyle)
"How, then, did you deduce the telegram?"
"Why, of course I knew that you had not written a letter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. I see also in your open desk there that you have a
sheet of stamps and a thick bundle of postcards. What could you go into the post-office for, then, but to send a wire? Eliminate all other factors, and
the one which remains must be the truth." (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 1 - The Science of Deduction)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-01.html
“"How came he, then?" I reiterated. "The door is locked; the window is inaccessible. Was it through the chimney?"
"The grate is much too small," he answered. "I had already considered that possibility."
"How, then?" I persisted.
"You will not apply my precept," he said, shaking his head. "How often have I said to you that when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be the truth? We know that he did not come through the door, the window, or the chimney. We also know that he could not have
been concealed in the room, as there is no concealment possible. When, then, did he come?"
"He came through the hole in the roof!" I cried.
"Of course he did. He must have done so. If you will have the kindness to hold the lamp for me, we shall now extend our researches to the room
above -- the secret room in which the treasure was found."” (“The Sign of Four,”(1890) by Arthur Conan Doyle: Chapter 6 - Sherlock Holmes Gives a
Demonstration)
https://literature.org/authors/doyle-arthur-conan/sign-of-four/chapter-06.html
“"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations
that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their Fathers conquered...I
believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies... The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored
to the people, to whom it properly belongs."”
“The first part of the quotation ("If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by
deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the
continent their Fathers conquered") has not been found anywhere in Thomas Jefferson's writings, to Albert Gallatin or otherwise. It is identified in
Respectfully Quoted as spurious, and the editor further points out that the words "inflation" and "deflation" are not documented until after Jefferson's
lifetime.
The second part of the quotation ("I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies...") may well be a
paraphrase of a statement Jefferson made in a letter to John Taylor in 1816. He wrote, "And I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments
are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling
futurity on a large scale."
The third part of this quotation ("The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs") may be a
misquotation of Jefferson's comment to John Wayles Eppes, "Bank-paper must be suppressed, and the circulating medium must be restored to the nation to whom
it belongs."” [Internal citations removed]
(Tue 6 Oct '09) Remember "Lavonda" from 'Lost & Missing' below? Her real name is Cynthia Caron & she's on
THE VIEW & needs your
vote. Click here to help Cyndi & Lost & Missing children. Plant City High School: 25-yr Reunion#UPDATE: Deadline
has been extended to allow you more time: You now have until Mon. Aug. 3rd, 2009 to register & pay -without a late fee. After that, registration is
closed. Click here
or here for new developments regarding unexpected news coverage --AND the new Facebook 'reunion'
link.[End of Update.] * A 25-Yr reunion for PCHS class of 1984 has been planned for classes 80-88: Fri AUG 07 and Sat AUG
08, 2009 - many events planned.
WALDEN LAKE boasts it will be: "the largest combined reunion in Plant City's history. Over 1,000 classmates & family expected to attend. See friends &
family from your class and the years
before and after you graduated." Why this reunion will probably be real big:
*1* For the 1st time in ages, 'local' Plant City venue (not Tampa or St.Pete) *2* Good publicity by classmate mass emails, flyer handouts, & publicity in all
the major papers *3* A 'combined'
Reunion, inviting all of 1980-1988 *4* Reasonably priced ($40.oo for main event is lower than most REUNIONS) #1: WaldenLakeGolf.com -> Select EVENTS -> Click on 'Class Reunions' -> Visit "Plant City HS Classes of '82, '83, '84, '85
& '86" (Or just click here) #2: Classmates.com -> PCHS Class of 1984 -> Click on 'Announcements' for details and the original 'Reunion'
announcement (Click here & Sign in) It is quoted as saying: "Everyone needs to sign up with
Walden Lake Golf and Country Club. Please
don't wait! You can go to their website and register online or you can call them. They need an accurate count to have time to order food and prepare the
rooms we will be using." *
Registration & payment required byMon. Aug. 3rd, 2009.
After that, registration is closed. (Lest we forget, I
missed our 20-yr reunion.)
Lost & Missing Children need your help... UPDATE! We won 16th
place!
!! -As of Wed 10 June 2009, it's official: We beat both Miley Cyrus and Oprah! Click
on: https://tweeterwall.mallplace.com/tw/wall-of-fame and select 'Ms Twitter
World' on the bar to the
right. (Or click *here* for a screen capture, documenting the
moment!)
In a message dated 5/25/2009 2:08:35 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, <Lavonda Dolce> writes:
...Thanks Gordon for helping me. If you can, I would be honored if you email your friends too: The more clicks
the better. Here is what my friend
Teresa is telling her email list:
My dear Friend...is having a contest on a site called Twitter, she runs a forum for missing kids here in the states.
All you have to do is go to this link https://bit.ly/be9nb and the second place person is her site, (it is the hands with the purple flower)
titled @LostNMissing.
If she could get enough votes she would get exposure to show the faces of children, ederly and loved ones missing and maybe find one that could go home to
their family. Would you please vote for
her. You don't need to sign up all you do is click on the x mark and it turns to a check mark. She is in second place to a teenager just wanting
popularity, when her site and cause
is a darned good one, you can vote every twenty minutes, so when you think of it today would you please please please vote and vote and vote and lets see if
we can get her number up enough
to win. I am begging all my friends, Please for me....With sugar and cream.....lol
Gordon adds: https://mallplace.com/tweeter-wall/ms-twitterworld is the direct link.
Strike that! THIS-> https://tweeterwall.mallplace.com/tw/worldwide/elite-ms-twitterworld is the 'new' link.
(Contest
is over -see above.) #1: Click there, and #2: Vote on 'LostNMissing'. "Just do it!"
Friday, 06 February 2009: Unemployment Comp Case:Watts v.
UAC, et al., No. 08-6939 (U.S. Jan.
12, 2009, US Supreme Court) -is currently pending redermination; the appendix in this cause for the most recent brief is also online.
Click here -at the main site, or, alternatively, at the mirror
site, here to access the proper folder. The files and folder in question are as
follows:
* Redetermination.doc (The "redermination" request)
* 08-6939_ts.pdf (the "top side" brief; e.g., the opening brief of petitioner/appellant)
* 08-6939_tssb.pdf (a "top side supplemental brief")
* APX/ (the file folder where the appendix documents are kept)
* Additionally, there are other files "therein" related to this case.
* Lastly, any lawyers looking at this case and thinking the litigant is stupid, don't laugh for too long: You could be the next victim the court
decides to target. (And, knowing the
lawyers deal with the courts more than, say, pro se litigants, that is quite possible if not highly probable.)
In the haste to turn out a story, many news sources make the false claim that “Octuplet Mom,” Nadya Suleman’s children
*were* given Bible names, when, in fact,
only five of the eight octuplets were. Click here for details.
Saturday, 21 June 2008 STRANGE BUT TRUE News: Someone, probably a lawyer who frequents
Topix.com, caught snooping net
about Register editor's Unemployment Comp case. - Gordon Watts, that paper's editor and main (but not only) writer, did a routine
check
of our web logs and saw unusual activity of a Google.com web search on his recent unemployment
comp case (sometimes cited as an
example of how judges break their own rules). The writer of "Post #219" on
May 8, 2008 by a Winter Park,
Florida lawyer, who calls herself "Boohil," is believed to be the person searching for updates on Watts' case. Whether true or not, Watts has posted a copy
online (here and here) of the motion for
rehearing to satisfy curious readers
-and offer support of his claims of judicial misconduct. (Editor's note: The online personality referred to above has, just now,
offered this clarification: "I acknowledged (over 6 weeks ago), that
I saw a couple of your unemployment
comp case filings included in some Google search results (a search conducted a couple of weeks before that discussion). I've conducted no "VERY RECENT"
Google searches which would have included
any results related to you. There's your clarification.")
*Friday, 15 October 2010 - Info on how to combat computer viruses - most of these program are free,
including two FREE programs from Microsoft Corporation,
a trusted source:
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
*Thursday, 10 August 2006 - INTERESTING Star Trek
development: I have learned
that Star Trek, the original series, has begun production with all new episodes of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, with consulting producer, Eugene Roddenberry, Jr. As
some of the original actors have died,
there are new actors, but there are also some returning actors as well, including, but not limited to Walter Koenig (Chekov), George Takei (Sulu), and Grace
Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand).
Picking up in the 4th season, where the series' 3rd season left off in 1969, the Five-Year Mission continues. For further details and free download of
current episodes, please
see the official Star Trek: New Voyages and
Star Trek: Phase II websites, and: Click on the DOWNLOADS link to be carried to the EPISODES
section.
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
Monday, 23 August 2004 -OLD NEWS: Gordon Watts misses Class of 1984 Plant City Senior
High School's 20-year class reunion:
For Details, click: here or here (I
apologized for missing my High School
reunion.)
** Wednesday, 13 February 2008 -Breaking News: Florida Judicial System makes
international news: A British
newspaper, here, gives an unbiased report of the account. While all the
judges seem corrupt, the general
trend is that the more corrupt judges are rewarded more and punished less, and the JQC, set up to police bad judges, is even more corrupt. Truly bizarre -but
only in America, where the
judiciary is in need of reform. The Judicial Qualifications Commission (aka "JQC"), a "Kanaroo Court" set up to police bad judges, which was in The
Register news items below,
on March 07 and March 15 of 2005, is at it again: This fine story by
the St. Pete Times, was
kind enough to quote Register editor, Gordon Watts: -Screen Capture
Here-
** Tuesday, 28 August 2007 -Breaking News: As reported by Ron Branson, of the
national Jail 4 Judges site, Nancy Grant, the director of the Florida Jail
4 Judges branch, has been
prosecuted for distribution of copies of the constitution to inmates, an apparent violation of her 1st Amendment Rights of free speech to said inmates.
Click here for details from their news room.
Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
** Friday, 21 October 2005 - Interesting
News:
The very dedicated staff at the Florida Department of Law Enforcement
apparently visited my personal website
here and hit 17 pages about 44 times after I sent them a letter suggesting ways they could improve their forensics labs (downloading about 1.70 MB, with the
most recent visit on 20 Oct 2005
- 14:02 pm, EDT). (Their website, FYI, is: https://www.fdle.state.fl.us.) One might speculate that, besides being
plain curious, they may have been
grateful for me defending them in court and almost winning. (See below.)
A little history here is due: We remember the state police were the only honest cops involved in the Terri Schiavo
ordeal, but the State Police were
the victims of "obstruction of justice" and "political stonewalling" in their various attempts to investigate some abuses alleged in this case. (If you
wanted Terri to die, then you might
disagree with my personal blog here ;-)
In any case, while I really hate "political" things -and quite prefer the "quiet life," I was rather incensed at the
abuse committed against our honest
state police, and went to court to defend Florida's honest state police -and Terri. (I am not a lawyer, and felt a little out of place, but, hey, this is
America, and we have the freedom of
redress, right?) The "long story made short" is that, while I didn't win, I did better than Jeb, losing my case by a narrow 4-3 margin. (Fla. Gov. Jeb Bush
(Republican) lost his case before
the same court 7-0, bless his soul.)
This chapter in my life is closed, and I hope to put my college education to good use doing forensic work in either a
police or private forensics lab,
and there are several job offers out there of varying magnitudes and nature.
Whether the state police give me a job in this important field (or not?), we need to keep them in our prayers daily.
(I must add, to be fair, that most
police officers are honest and diligent most of the time, and (unfortunately) the Pinellas Park City police and county sheriff deputies did
not uphold the various state laws
on, for example, abuse. In this context, we must pray for the errant police as well as the honest ones: We must pray for our enemies: They need it the most.)
Now... the many investigations that
the Florida State Police do (ballistics, forensics, DNA analysis, chemical analysis of crime scenes, etc.) are all very important; and, they are understaffed
and underfunded -and overworked.
(When you are a victim of crime, you will wish you had prayed for these ministers of justice, these messengers of protection. -- OK, back
to my "regular" personal blog
issues. Have a nice day. -GW
Monday, 24 October 2005 Record Hurricane Season: Why is this happening? - Three competing theories
(Editorial) | Main Mirror |
| Alt. Mirror |
Saturday, 27 August 2005 New link added here with mirrors on mirror: 1 and mirror: 2: News coverage of "Roe v.
Wade" lawyer, Sarah Weddington's 03 Apr. '96 visit to FSU's Lecture Circuit and coverage of the 20 Apr. '99 debate
held on whether the HIV virus causes AIDS.
Monday, 02 May 2005 "The Concerned Citizens for Judicial Reform (CCJR) in conjunction with other groups and friends of Terri
Schindler-Schiavo has organized rallies in Tallahassee, FL and Washington, DC to take place on May 2, 05 beginning at 9AM EST." For details, please log onto:
this PRWeb.com press release; or, if you prefer PDF version (takes slightly longer to
download), please click: here. Please note that this rally is TODAY, and is formally
scheduled to go from 9am to 5pm, and, if you are going to the one in Tallahassee, word on the street has it that it will start in front of the Florida
Supreme Court on 500 South Duval Street, which is close enough to the State Capitol, that there are bound to be participants at both places.
Tuesday, 15 March 2005: You are still being asked to help impeach judges involved;
details in Monday's Alert below Update: Currently, only seven (7) methods exist to save Terri Schiavo:
(1) EXECUTIVE BRANCH: The Department of Children and Families (DCF) is an arm of the Executive Branch, as are the local police, and thus do not need court
authority to step in and take custody of an abuse victim. Florida Governor, John Ellis "Jeb" Bush, is the head of all law enforcement in the state.
Based on past experiences in which illegal and oppressive court decisions have led to civil unrest (Rodney King decision, acquitting guilty police
officers) and have also led to civil war (The "Dred Scot" decision of the United States Supreme Court, declaring Blacks to be slaves, which led the United
States into Civil War), many voices are calling on the Florida Governor to be a good leader and stop this judge, who has ordered that Terri Schiavo NOT have
an autopsy but to be cremated, in a thinly veiled attempt to cover the illicit attempt to perform an illegal euthanasia. He could do this by sending in
the DCF to take custody of Terri. State Police could escort the DCF employees to ensure their safety. If local police interfered with the State Police, it
is pretty certain that local citizens would defend the State Police and allow the abuse victim to be taken into protective custody; this would prevent civil
unrest and avert what many think could spark a civil war.
(2) JUDICIAL BRANCH: The Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) outlined below, has indicated that it will not be able to meet in time to save Terri, even
were it to agree with the premise that the judges involved be removed and impeached.
(3) JUDICIAL BRANCH: Many suits are outstanding and/or on appeal, so they won't be covered here.
(4) THE NEWS MEDIA: The "Fourth Estate" is the real power in control, and refuses to expose the illegalities committed in this case, evidence of possible
"state controlled" media influence, the "state actor" being the judicial branch and its interests.
(5) THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: The State House has the Constitutional authority to impeach bad judges. This is rare and difficult, but see below for how you can
be a part.
(0) THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH: This is "number zero" - The new laws being proposed on the State and Federal leval are all "zero" because any law passed can be
conveniently ignored by a corrupt or "unjust" judge.
(6) THE HEAVENLY BRANCH: Before we ask you to pray, crack open your Bible and look in the book called "Matthew" and see chapter 25, verses 31-46. The speaker
is JESUS, and He is very ticked about the way in which someone had deprived His younger brothers and sisters of some basic necessities, including, but not
limited to, food and water, with no mention of feeding tubes -or excuses being accepted. It is the editorial board's interpretation that Jesus is seen
telling some bullies to "Go to Hell," in this account. The conclusion that one may draw is that if you pray for Terri to be given basic necessities, then you
are pleasing to Jesus, and if you pray for her to be put out of her misery or otherwise deprived, you may end up on Jesus's bad side, so, before we ask you
to pray, we direct you to this passage: We don't want Jesus to accuse you of picking on His younger sister, Theresa Schiavo.
(7) YOU: While we believe God will eventually judge the wicked, He has told contacts at The Register that He will not intervene at this time unless
people who have received His blessings act to defend the defensless and then pray for His help: The Almighty's official word on this is that while Terri is
not to be blamed for this, it would not be fair to all the other righteous nations for Him to rescue our heroine, Terri, in the same way He rescues their
heros of the faith when our nation's citizens have been much more apathetic and lukewarm than their diligent citizens.
In plain English, The Word of the Lord is that He does not think it is fair for us to expect the same blessings as other, more righteous, nations, if we are
lazy. He will eventually rescue Terri, but He is likewise displeased by those who refuse to demand impeachment and removal of unjust judges and other
officials at fault -He is displeased with those who only speak of good but do not back it up with righteous deeds:
Proverbs 3:27 (KJV) "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it."
James 4:17 (KJV) "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
"Wanna do good? See below, and then act."
Monday, 14 March 2005:
Alert! You are being asked to help impeach judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case. The online petitions method is
not working (it is ignored by those who could impeach) -and the "JQC" method, shown
here is *NOT* working. The authorities in the JQC say they don't meet in time to
impeach Greer and various appeals court judges who persecute and threaten Terri Schiavo -even if the JQC agrees with us that he should go, they tell The
Register that their panel does not meet in time to act. THEREFORE, you must invoke Art. III, Sect. 17 of the State Constitution. Please see below
--and note the March 07-08 stories for details on how to do. (Time is ticking, and she dies on 18 March 2005 if no one helps, and remember, impeachments
actions are both rare and possibly slow, so let's get a move on it!)
Tuesday, 08 March 2005
NEWS FLASH:The Register legal committee concludes American Court System
in crisis, leads the way to address it:
After one unnamed office aide to Florida State Representative, John Stargel, informed The Register that there had not been any constituent requests
to being an impeachment proceeding (e.g., to "impeach Greer" or any other judge), as outlined in the State Constitution (see story below), it was
discovered that the "online petitions" to impeach a judge while a great morale booster, were not being effective to their stated goal -to get rid of bad
judges. Therefore, staff at The Register researched the proper method. For any person wishing to impeach a judge, it is suggested that you contact
your state representative, as Editor-in-Chief, Gordon W. Watts, has done. Click
here for the letter in Microsoft Word 97 format which was sent by
conventional postal mail, or here for the letter, in "web page"
format, showing what was sent by e-mail.
Monday, 07 March 2005
David Allen, host of The David Allen Show heard on
WJGR: 1320 AM, "The Patriot," Where your opinion counts, has asked The Register to post contact information for Florida State Representatives.
There have been many misguided attempts to initiate impeachment proceedings against the various judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case. To begin with, the
appeal court judges bear even more responsibility than circuit judge, George Greer, because they have higher authority. Secondly, the attempts to impeach
many judges has resulted in "online petitions" galore; However, in Florida, there are only two constitutionally acceptable forms of addressing the misconduct
of judges. One is through the Judicial Qualifications Commission. The
Florida Bar erroneously claims
here that the JQC is the only body that can
investigate judicial misconduct: "Under the Florida Constitution, only the Judicial Qualifications Commission has authority to investigate complaints
against Florida judges. Persons wishing to file a complaint should address materials to: Judicial Qualifications Commission 1110 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, FL 32303 (850) 488-1581" ~ However, THE FLORIDA BAR is incorrect: The Florida Constitution, under
Article III, Section 17: Impeachment Proceedings, also
may investigate bad judges. Just like the U.S. House impeached former President, Bill Clinton, and the U.S. Senate tried and convicted him, finally imposing
a minor reprimand as punishment, the State House may impeach, and the State Senate may try. ~ Therefore, when David Allen became aware of the movement among
citizens who are saying that "enough is enough" with respect to judicial misconduct, he asked The Register to post links to the contact information
of Florida State Representatives. If you live in Florida, and you want a judge -or a group of judges -impeached, then you are advised to NOT sign any
petition -until after you have contacted both the JQC (see above) and your State Representative -via some methods listed below:
********** https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/legislators.aspx
(The official state site - look down the list, or click the "Find Your Representative" icon in the top right, and enter your zip code.)
********** https://mmm1108.verio-web.com/flor54/vpkwritenow.html
(This is a private website, and you must trust the website to really send the email. This method is not preferred. Instead, it is suggested you look in the
front of your local telephone book for your state representative. Your state senator can not initiate impeachment proceedings in Florida, only your
representative; the senate, however, does try the defendants, that is, the judges who terrorize Joe Average Citizen.)
********** https://action.csgv.org/legdirectory
(This private website is user-friendly. It is suggested that you enter your address, and the site takes you to a page showing who your representatives
are.)
**********
https://action.csgv.org/legdirectory/Index.asp?step=6&state=FL&chamber=003
(This site is similar to the above, but you must sift through the list to find your representative; If you don't know your representative's name, you'd
better break out the local telephone book, and look in the "blue pages" in the front, right before the white pages.)
********** https://www.nssflorida.org/fl_house.shtml
(This site is my personal favorite: The National Space Society provides this contact information for Florida legislators with the stated hopes of people
advocating in letter writing activities "in support of space exploration and the nations vision for space exploration." ~~~ Scroll on down in this very
pretty page to view photographs and data on your local legislator -if you know his/her name.)
If you live in Florida and you wish to let your voice be heard with respect to renegade, loose-cannonball judges, then you will at least try to contact your
Florida State Representative and the JQC with respect to impeachment proceedings.
"Evil triumphs when good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke [1729-1797] ~ If you do not make the effort, then by your
actions, you have shown yourself to support the highly-paid state judges who will do anything they please to you when you enter their
courtroom.
Friday, 25 February 2005
Florida Supreme Court splits 4-3 on surprise last-minute filing in Terri Schiavo Case While many parties have become involved in the Terri Schiavo case, there has been much activity under the radar, not reported by
the mainstream press.
LAKELAND, FL (The Register) Terri Schiavo supporters have been bolstered by a surprise, last-minute filing from an unexpected source...
Click here for further details.
Wednesday, 23 February 2005:
New filings today in the Terri Schiavo case defy news media who have said that Register Editor, Gordon Watts, does not
have legal standing to proceed: While many have made fun of Watts' efforts in court, the Florida Supreme Court has refused to dismiss the Habeas Corpus
proceedings brought by Watts, and they have sat in court since late 2003. Due to the recent turn of events in the Schiavo case, many have asked Watts to
petition the courts to put his court filings on a fast track before it is too late. Click
on the Yahoo!/GeoCities Mirror here for detail of this case.
Friday the 15th of Oct. 2004:
THIS JUST IN: Fla. Dept. of Revenue Guns for Michael Schiavo No other news agency gets scoop
While it is obvious that A Website tracker has done double caller ID on the Dept. of
Revenue --seeing who visited and who referred them --in which they clicked on The Register's home pages and browsed around, what is not
so obvious is why. (Hint to the reader: You can take the "204.89.69.44" and the "204.89.69.14" numbers and go to the
ARIN Whois database and look up the IP addresses to see who owns them. In this case, the Florida Dept. of Revenue
can surf the net on it's block from: 204.89.64.0 to 204.89.127.255.)
While our investigators do not know for sure, three theories emerge:
1) The rumors that Mike Schiavo has taken out a hefty insurance policy on his wife, with the intent to deprive her of antibiotics and kill her, and collect,
abound, and are discussed
right here.
2) The fact that Mike Schiavo is on record as having violated
this felony law, s.825.103 might seem interesting to the Dept. of Revenue --because, while the police have never charge him with this crime, Mr. Schiavo
is on record with the Court System as having his award money for his lawyer' fees --and for using Terri's award money for his lawyers' fees. He is permitted
under the State Law to use the $300,000 he won for whatever legal purpose he wanted, but since the court orders from the medical malpractice trial jury were
for the approx. 700,000 dollars for Terri to be used only on her medical care, this constitutes a first degree felony within the meaning of s.825.103.
3) The Register's favorite theory is that the class 2 and class 3 felonies committed by Michael, and outlined in
this brief posted
on this page and also on
The Fla. Supreme Court's website, and posted
right here may have something to
do with it, combined with the fact that Terri is illegally detained at a hospice, when she is not terminal and continually denied retained rights to an
attorney and standard medical rehabilitation.
One thing is certain: Only four people know - Mike Schiavo, his attorney, the Fla. Dept. of Insurance investigator -and God!
In God we trust. One nation under God. So help me God. God bless the USA.
God help us!
Arizona's Dept of Insurance in the news
Monday, 20 September 2004 -- published 0420am
The only "big" thing that puts them in the news is that an anonymous reader of The Register reading this story inquired about the proper dept to
address insurance fraud in his/her state.
In this case, the reader would be advised to go to https://www.id.state.az.us, the home page of the Arizona
Department of Insurance; Phone numbers include: (602) 912-8444 (Phoenix Area) or (520) 628-6370 Tucson Area --- Toll Free Statewide: (800) 325-2548.
This should be sufficient cause to put this dept in the news, as The Register strives to be interactive with readers, which, coincidentally, is
one of the requirements that Al Ruechel of Bay News 9 mentioned in a recent correspondence as a requirement for featured
websites.
New: Interesting Website:
| https://AngelsOnAssignment.org The classic documentary of an old preacher visited by angels is finally online
and at no charge -with a follow up sequel. "It changed my life," says one entranced reader who could not put the book down and alleges that he had to finish
it in one sitting. One reader saved it to his hard drive just in case it
was not available elsewhere.
Florida Supreme Court has, for over six (6) months now, refused to dismiss current Habeas Corpus petition (for Terri Schiavo) and Mandamus actions (to
enforce felony abuse laws) filed by The Register's mercy chair, Editor, Gordon Watts. Generally, bad cases get dismissed very quickly,
suggesting Watts' petitions have merit. See Court Cases links below for details on this case, No. SC03-2420.
Do the news media and the Pinellas Cty Courts think that Florida Lawmakers were just joking when they made it a 2nd degree felony to deprive
Theresa Schindler-Schiavo of standard (non-feeding tube) food and medical treatment under s. 825.102(3), Florida State Law? (If police allowed them to
deny Theresa protection of these laws when she was moving around and possibly able to see/hear, what happens to you if you get knocked out
cold unconscious -or worse, if you are conscious but unable to speak? "Things that make you go 'Hmm...'.") ~ For a Biblical perspective,
see Proverbs 24:11-12; Prov. 31:8-9; and the last several verses of Matthew, chapter 25. See if you can figure out what the two wisest men of all times
might be thinking about Theresa's plight, which could be your or my plight if fate so chooses. ~--> NEW:
<--~ ~ Points to ponder: "When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people
mourn." (Proverbs 29:2, Holy Bible, KJV)
** Click *_here_* to jump back to the top of the page.
UNCATEGORIZED Stuff:
This site maintained by Gordon W. Watts, who lost his pro se bid to save Terri by a 4-3 margin in Florida's Supreme Court. Watts' case, SC03-2420,
is shown here and a saved copy is
here. Florida Governor, Jeb Bush also tried to save Terri's life, and went before the same court
in case number SC04-925. Bush's
rehearing, unlike Watts', was denied by a 7-0 margin. Watts' experience and ability to speak with some credibility is shown by the fact that he did markedly
better in his rehearing before the
same panel than Bush. Governor Jeb Bush's case is shown: here and a
save copy
is here. Mr. Watts is also shown on page 17 of 25 in this Federal Court's opinion:
Court Website Copy or Saved
copy of case No. 05-11628.
Related case here in the Tampa Tribune. Besides these links about
me and my involvement, please note that other cool links about other things are on this small personal pege here.
New: For those seeking to find out what "The Law" has to say
about Theresa "Terri" Schiavo, please see one of the better court briefs
filed in this case:
(Web page) Copy on GordonWAYNEWatts.com mirror, here
or Copy on GordonWatts.com mirror
(In Microsoft Word format: 283 KB) Copy on GordonWAYNEWatts.com mirror, here
or Copy on GordonWatts.com mirror Commentary: Since this brief here is by Mr. Watts, who did better than Jeb, and since Watts claims this court
filing was a slightly more updated
version of the one which beat Jeb's petition in court, and that he feels it was his best court brief on this matter, we arrive at the "good" quality by this
logic.
Oops! Did the Word document not download properly? I don't know what that is - however, you might try
hitting the web servers
at The Register, whose links are listed below:
**1** https://www.NotMilk.com The "long" story on why not to drink milk from animals -the "short-and-sweet" version is my
health and diet research above.
**2** https://www.StarTrekNewVoyages.com Yes! The rumors are true: Star Trek, the Original Series is back with
all new episodes -picking up where
the series' 3rd season left off in 1969, the Five-Year Mission continues now in season 4, and starring some of the original actors, including, but not
limited to George Takei (Sulu), Walter
Koenig (Chekov), and Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand).
**3** https://www.AngelsOnAssignment.org Many things about Holy Angels from a man who made several correct
predictions before his untimely
death -and whose allegations of visits with angels is thus supported. LAST but certainly not least, this page is one of my favorite web sites.
Monday, 10 March 2008 -CURRENT News: Three new 'link' resources are being added
today.
** ** First, my friend, Alan Collinge, has started Student Loan
Justice, a Political Action Committee (PAC) representing students before our elected official -get this -with regard to student loans. In case
you don't know, many debts (such as credit card debts) can be forgiven by way of bankruptcy, but student loans typically
can NOT be forgiven except in these four ways:
(1) Paying off the loan in full (including interest, which can drive up the total loan greatly); (2) Certain types of volunteer work, military service, or
teaching or practicing medicine in certain types of communities; (3) If the borrower becomes totally and permanently disabled; and, lastly, (4) If the
student borrower passes away (dies). Huh...? You mean a person who gets in debt
through drugs and credit card debt has more bankruptcy protection than students trying to better themselves?Yes, if we are to believe this
official 'Stafford Loan' website, which, under its "Circumstances and Conditions for Loan Discharge" header, clearly states that: "(Typically, student
loans cannot be discharged in a bankruptcy.) Consult your legal counsel regarding your particular situation."
The Student Loan Justice "PAC" was, according to the official website (click here), formed in
December, 2006. Their PAC provides a counterweight to the big lenders in Congress, who regularly donate millions of dollars every election cycle to our
elected officials -no doubt, in hopes of reducing or eliminating "consumer protections" for low-income student borrowers. Alan's organization was featured
in a recent CNN story (click here). Their official website
is: https://www.StudentLoanJustice.org.
** ** Second, Mr. Joseph L. DelGado, a paralegal in the Altamonte Springs / Winter Park area of Central Florida
(near Orlando), and one of The Register's readers, is asking for signatures related to Pro Se litigants' difficulties in court. This petition
is not like most online petitions: It uses a "real life" signature verification -where you actually sign, so it carries more weight -and is less easily
forged -than most "online"
petitions. "Pro Se" refers to persons who represents themselves in court -without a lawyer: "Pro Se"
definition-See
also:www.pro-selaw.org.
Mr. DelGado's organization, PEOPLE UNITED FOR LEGAL SYSTEM EQUALITY (PULSE), looks hopeful, since he apparently has 27 years of experience as a paralegal.
His petition, motivated in part by personal experiences, can be found
at: https://www.gopetition.com/online/11773.html and seeks reform and improvements of the current
status of the legal system.
** ** Third, another reader, James in Florida, has asked us to give press coverage to Lauren Richardson's
situation. At first, The Register was reluctant to do so, because even after intense coverage on Terri Schiavo's situation, not unlike Laura's,
it appeared that the power of the press was ignored. However, James' constant efforts on behalf of Lauren, who is most likely not PVS, are inspiring,
even to those who have long given up hope that "the system" can be made to work. This writer has viewed clips of Lauren on a Fox Network interview, posted
on You Tube, and -from what little can be seen of her -she does not appear to be PVS. Her official website is: https://www.LifeForLauren.org.
Additionally, there exists a radio interview about Ms. Lauren Richardson: https://f2a.org/radio/2008-02-12.ram, although the first part of
the broadcast deals with other issues. Advance the time-bar to about 22 min 45 sec (total Program is about: 54 min 08.1 sec) to hear this program.
While this seems to be a "hopeless" case, let us not forget that many others were declared "PVS" or otherwise hopeless -when they were not PVS at all
-for example, Kate Adamson, Rev. Rus Cooper-Dowda, mentioned
in this St. Pete Times article, and who
wrote this booklet
and this mini biography. -and Police Sgt. David Mack, just to take
three examples. Dr. Ronald Cranford,
one of the doctors who declared Terri Schiavo to be "PVS," declared Sgt. Mack to be PVS -and was wrong -as we see:
"CRANFORD: Yes. Yes, in 1979-1980 in a legal case then. I diagnosed Sergeant David Mack (ph) as being in permanent vegetative state and 20 months later he
started waking up and he regained consciousness and I've never been able to explain that case." (Source: CNN Official
Transcripts.)
Last, but not least, we can not forget Terry Wallis, who was declared to be PVS, hopeless,
and a long list of many other
bad things -yet he proved them wrong. -The moral of the story is "never say 'never'" when it comes to declaring a person to be a hopeless PVS case.
--- That's all for now, folks.
Monday, 04 April 2005 Register editor and reporter, Gordon Watts, has been on special assignment on site at
"Ground Zero," the Woodside Hospice,
and has traveled to the Federal District courthouse in Tampa, as well as the Pinellas County State's Attorney Office, to continue court action, report, and
participate in protests of the
various abuses of the disabled patients who, while able to eat and drink, are sometimes denied food and water, not to be confused with feeding tube
implements. Staff has been unavailable
to update the site but are expected to be back in the office sometime soon. We thank you for your readership and patronization of The Register. (Links to
the 2 mirrors are below in
the Friday, March 11 alert.)
Friday, 11 March 2005:
Alert! You are being asked to help impeach judges involved in the Terri Schiavo case. The online petitions method is not working,
so you must invoke Art. III,
Sect. 17 of the state Constitution. Please go to The Register's GeoCities Mirror and note the March
07-08 stories for details on how to
do. (Time is ticking, and she dies on 18 March 2005 if no one helps, and remember, impeachments actions are both rare and possibly slow, so let's get a move
on it!)
Wednesday, 02 March 2005:
There is a lot of discussion about my close call at Florida's Supreme Court, in the which I got a 4-3 decision, almost getting intervention in
the Terri Schiavo
case. Since many people are stunned that I (a non-lawyer) did far better than our state's Governor, who lost on a resounding 7-0 decision, I think
this case bears mentioning.
It would be remiss of me to not include a link to the videos of the woman they call brain dead, but others call crippled or handicapped:
Click on one mirror below to view video - download time depends on connection speed and Internet traffic:
[Main Mirror | Backup
Mirror]
At the right: Mr. Watts in action at a demonstration for Theresa "Terri" Schiavo, January 07,
2004.
Florida Supreme Court splits 4-3 on surprise last-minute filing in Terri Schiavo Case While many parties have become involved in the Terri Schiavo case, there has been much activity under the radar, not reported by the mainstream
press.
LAKELAND, FL (PRWEB) Friday, 25 February 2005 - Terri Schiavo supporters have been bolstered by a surprise, last-minute filing from an unexpected
source...
If one mirror is down or busy, click on the other. PS: Here's the link to the official website for Terri Schiavo's most immediate family:
https://TerrisFight.org
Click **_HERE_** for links to Watts' involvement in the Terri Schiavo saga -andEducation:
FSU: I went to The Florida State University, in Tallahassee, Florida, and graduated with a double major with honors in Biological and
Chemical Sciences. (Go 'noles!) I
am class of 2000.
UEI, An electronics college: Prior to that, I went to United Electronics Institute, now doing business as Florida Metropolitan
University. To clarify, UEI was at 3924
Coconut Palm Drive, in the Sable Park region of Tampa, Florida. I am class of 1988.
High School: For high school, I went to Plant City Senior High School, Plant City, Florida. I am class of 1984. (See pics to the
right.)
Education in the real world's school of hard knocks: Oh, yeah: All that electronic college did me good: I'm a HAM EXTRA operator (There
are three levels: Technician,
then General, and then the highest, Extra: Zzzap!!) My call sign is N2GY. You can look me up
on: https://www.qrz.com or https://www.arrl.org or
even https://wireless.fcc.gov/uls if you know how. Here: https://www.qrz.com/callsign/N2GY
and https://www.arrl.org/fcc/fcclook.php3?call=n2gy
and https://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=2702986
are my pages in QRZ, ARRL, and
the FCC.
YOU ARE HERE: ~~~ www.GordonWayneWatts.com ~~~
New: Interesting Websites:
https://www.HartungReport.com, whose owner has a personal website
here: https://www.RobertHartung.com. He's no ANGEL, but he is a conservative: Get the "Conservative" News
that matters.
For REAL ANGELS, please see below:
The classic documentary of an old preacher visited by angels is finally online
and at no charge -with a follow up sequel. "It changed my life," says one entranced reader who could not put the book down and alleges that he had to finish
it in one sitting. One reader saved it to his hard drive just in case it was not available elsewhere.
New: Interesting Website:
https://AngelsOnAssignment.org The classic documentary of an old preacher visited by angels is finally online
and at no charge -with a follow up sequel. "It changed my life," says one entranced reader who could not put the book down and alleges that he had to finish
it in one sitting. One reader saved it to his hard drive just in case it was not available elsewhere.
https://HomeTown.AOL.com/Gww1210 FLORIDA'S INVESTIGATIVE NEWSPAPER VOLUME XII, Number 6 * $1.25 *___________*THE
REGISTER*___________* ________________________________________________ by 2003 The Register TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2003 Printed in
Lakeland,
Fla. $1.25 ________________________________________________
-------------------------
LAKELAND VOTER SAYS STATE DEPT DENIED MANDATORY RECOUNT ------------------------- From staff reports LAKELAND, Fla. -- As Governor Bush heads into
his seventh month in office,
one disenfranchised Lakeland voter says he wants to continue to challenge his legitimacy.
Bush, popular second-term Florida Governor, easily beat
Bill McBride with 61 percent of the
vote back in November. Although pre-election polls had him in a tight race with McBride, he held a comfortable lead throughout election night. But still
unresolved is a lawsuit filed September
of last year by one voter -- Republican Gordon Watts of Lakeland.
Watts claims the State Department
Lakeland resident and non-lawyer Gordon Watts filed a lawsuit
on behalf of himself and other similarly situated Florida
voters/taxpayers in September of last year.
broke the state?s mandatory recount law by refusing to grant Democratic Gubernatorial Primary contestant, Janet Reno, a machine recount after she was
defeated by less than one-half of a percent. His suit seeks a recount of the votes in that primary. The law requires an automatic statewide recount of the
votes when one candidate is defeated by less than one-half percent of the votes cast -- as was done for Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential race in
Florida.
Tallahassee Judge P. Kevin Davey refused to grant Watts an ?immediate hearing? as state election law requires, and eventually dismissed the
case.
Reno, now out of the public eye, had tried to obtain a recount but eventually gave up after almost a week following the state?s decision to
deny her request. She could not be reached for comment.
Watts currently has two pending appeals in the First District Court of Appeal and the
state?s Supreme Court.
?People shouldn't sue judges,? said George Waas, Senior Assistant Attorney General. Waas, who works directly for Attorney
General Charlie Crist, is the attorney appointed by the state to represent Judge Davey, who is a defendant in Watts' suit.
_________________________ Please see VOTER, Page 6A
6A/ THE REGISTER * TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 2003 *
https://hometown.aol.com/gww1210
VOTER CONTINUES SUIT, SEEKS MEDIA EXPOSURE
------------------------- Continued From
1A -------------------------
The other defendant, Florida's Department of State, responsible for counting the state's votes, is represented by
Jerry York. York had no comment when contacted by The Register.
Watts? situation is similar to that of former Vice President Al Gore. Gore, who
requested manual recounts in selected precincts, was given a statewide machine recount after he was defeated by less than one-half of a percent. Watts, a
registered Republican, claims that the "rule of law" should apply to Reno as well, in spite of the fact that she has given up her request for a statewide
recount. ?The law should apply equally to all, whether Democrat or Republican, and she should be given the mandatory machine recount like Al Gore was,? Watts
said. ?The State Department obviously thinks that they are above the law and not bound by the rules, but who else will they trample next if left
unchecked??
A survey performed by Watts claims that, with a 2.7 percent margin of error, 93 percent of voters want the election laws followed and
news coverage given at any cost or, at the very least, if the costs don?t run into the millions.
Nonetheless, news coverage of this has been sparse,
with press choosing instead to focus on lesser lawsuits, such as the resign-to-run suit against State Representative Kevin Ambler of Northwest Hillsborough
County. Even though Ambler had resigned an elected post in the Northdale Special Tax District on October 18, there was news coverage in local television and
print media long afterwards, with at least two articles appearing in the Tampa Tribune on October 25 and November 9 of last year. The four Tampa voters, who
brought this suit against Ambler, eventually lost and decided not to appeal.
Watts is also seeking the impeachment or removal of Judge Davey: ?This
judge illegally refused me a hearing, and no one is above the law. While most people have forgotten about the election or were unaware that laws were broken,
nonetheless, when told of it, most reported that all people should be given their day in court, and that the election laws should be followed -- because
violation of voting laws -- or denial of the right to have your grievances heard in court -- strike at the very foundation of America?s principles and hurts
everybody.?
The state House can impeach state judges, and, in certain circumstances, the governor or the state?s Supreme Court can remove a judge
from office.
?And,? Watts added, ?since most people with whom I?ve spoken want news coverage, I don?t understand why the news media has been so slow
to report on this.?
The case number for Watts? Supreme Court suit is SC03-385, and that of the 1st DCA case is 1D02-5120. Both cases are styled
Watts v. The Florida Department of State. ________________________________
*-_-* Gordon Watts can be contacted at Gww1210@aol.com for interviews or
to make contributions to defray his lawsuit costs.
Click here for further details of past actions on this.
***** -LINKS TO EXPLORE The Register on GeoCities- *****
Passed along to The Register by an anonymous but trusted source. -Editor
The volunteers of TerrisFight.org have learned that supporters are planning a demonstration on the steps of the Criminal Court House in Clearwater,
Florida to demand that Pinellas County's State Attorney, Bernie McCabe, conduct a full investigation into charges of abuse against Terri
Schindler-Schiavo by her guardian. If you would like to be a part of this effort, please join us in peaceful demonstration.
14250 49TH STREET
CLEARWATER, FL
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2003
&
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2003
4:00 - 7:00 pm
UPDATE: A Report on TERRI Schiavo Rally in St Pete / Clearwater yesterday evening
Date: 1/9/04 8:59:57 AM Eastern Standard Time
From: Gww1210
To: Gww1210
Dear fellow-supporters of Terri Schiavo, FYI, here is a brief report on the demonstration / rally we held yesterday evening in St Pete / Clearwater at the
Courthouse where State Atty Bernie McCabe works:
Friday, 09 January 2004
** Since my out of state friends have told me they're a little jealous that I live only 60 miles from yesterday's rally, I will give them an update:
Almost as many people showed up to protest Bernie McCabe as yesterday, a little less media exposure, but different members of the Schindler family were
kind enough to come out again and thank us for trying to help out and speak out.
Brian, a WTVT-TV Fox 13 reporter was kind enough to interview Rev Rus Cooper Dowda, myself, and a third person, a member of Not Dead Yet, whose name I
didn't get. My parents, who stayed up late enough to watch FOX 13's 10-O'Clock broadcast said they *did* show footage of the protest and gave some news
coverage, even though they did not air the interviews. However, they'll have the interviews as "file footage" for anything they plan to do in the future.
We got there earlier, stayed later, had more signs, were able to use cardboard to make the signs a little more sturdy and less "floppy," and passed out
more flyers. (good) Also, after we got finished picketing &handing out fliers at the courthouse, after it closed at five pm, we moved to the bus stop and
continued, picketing, talking to people, and passing out fliers that had the the facts and laws related to this matter. (I gave the Fox 13 reporter one of
the newly updated information sheets and told him of my lawsuit and furure plans of more people to continue legal and picketing actions.)
We had a good time, got to know one another a little better, and hopefully let people know that these abuses and denial of medical treatments &rehab could
happen to them, as well as the chance that someone could try to starve them when no one's looking.
MY COMMENTS: "We need publicity to pressure the 'high people' in government to enforce the law and follow the law, as the current laws, while not perfect
are generally good. Otherwise, what happened below (see my signature) could happen here."
Gordon Wayne Watts
Map to Location - Signs to Bring -
Why this demonstration is so important State Attorney Bernie McCabe has refused to
investigate charges of physical abuse against Terri Schindler-Schiavo, a disabled Pinellas County woman - even though a bone scan indicated Terri was
the victim of trauma.
Mr. McCabe has also refused to investigate well-founded allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation against Terri - even though there is evidence
which supports such charges and offenses of this nature are felony crimes under Florida law.
If you are in Florida and can join us in demanding that Mr. McCabe do the job he was elected to do, please be there.
RALLY! RALLY! RALLY!
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7th and THURSDAY, JANUARY 8th, 2004
4:00 - 7:00 pm
WE NEED YOU! TERRI NEEDS YOU! WE NEED BODIES!
Terri's life is at stake!
Please Help a Disabled Woman!
PLEASE BE ON THE STEPS OF
THE CRIMINAL COURT HOUSE
PICKET BERNIE McCABE'S OFFICE
14250 49th Street
Clearwater, Florida
MapQuest MAP for 14250 49th Street, Clearwater, FL:
The Recount Lawsuit continues without Janet Reno
More FLA Elections Problems This just in as of Tue. 16 Dec. 2003: The Florida First District Court of Appeals has affirmed the lower court ruling. Appeals are planned.
The Fla. 1st DCA, in the case, Watts v Florida Dept of State, case number 1D02-5120, affirmed the lower court ruling in a per curium decision,
without comment or a written opinion. (Browning, Hawkes, and Polston, JJ., concurring) Appealing such cases without opinion is historically difficult,
but The Register intends to continue digging for truth and avoid a "catch-22" scenario, where major media avoid coverage
without an "upset" ruling - and the court refuses to look at the laws, issue an "upset," without pressure from the press.
Florida, not known for the wisest choices, even if technically legal, in regards to voting and elections, is hoping to avoid more embarrassment, but
The Register believes that the laws are not solely for the rich and connected. Original Story Below:
More developments on Schiavo above & below, but 1st this: Click
* HERE * for a rather graphic picture (at bottom) of an overdose, not for shock value, but in hopes that all you parents
will have a frank discussion with your kids about knowing their limits & when to just walk away. When you view
this pic, remember: This didn't have to happen...
Click for:
Killer Nurses in the news
Related News
Click here to visit the official Terri Schiavo website.
Wed., 16 June 2004 hearing by Terri Schiavo's family to challenge the guardianship of estranged husband and guardian, Michael Schiavo,
before Judge George W. Greer, Fla. 6th Cir. Special Correspondent, Cheryl Ford, RN, reporting: Click:
**_HERE_** for story.
Register exclusive: Only The Register covered the
Terri's Law Oral Arguments Hearing this Monday, June 14, 2004,
held in Lakeland's Second District Court of Appeals.
Click
*_HERE_* to read the Register's report on two (2) other women, who were
given up for dead, but who were able to hear doctors talk about starving them. Another news agency reports on one of those women: Kate Adamson, a New
Zealand-native, was described by doctors as being in a "vegetative" state, but this mother of two could feel pain and hear the doctors plan to starve her to
death.
Original Story Here: (Note: The article initially calls her "Kate Anderson.")
Deep-scan analysis of the Terri Schiavo case - with possible solutions:
Click HERE for analysis of the disputed "Terri's Law" - and other violations of
the current mercy-killing laws, not in dispute - not currently covered by "mainstream" media.
Other News
Register continues its legal battle to get the Florida "recount" laws enforced. Recount lawsuit decision expected soon from Florida's first district
court of appeals. Read more below
"Our website is www.arthritisfoods.net. We are just starting our site so we do not have many links as of yet. I sincerely hope you are interested in our
proposition!
Election 2016: The Register's endorsements for both Primary and General Election Complete coverage for east HILLSBOROUGH (Plant City, Brandon, Tampa), west POLK (Lakeland / Winter Haven), & parts of
ORANGE Cty (Orlando) - with some surprises Wednesday, 24 August 2016 (LAKELAND, Fla.) ; Updated: Thursday, 25 August 2016, at 05:54pm (EST)
U.S. President: Editorial - by Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief
The Register, as all know, is a strongly right-leaning Conservative online newspaper, but journalism requires strict discipline to avoid bias (or
even the appearance of bias), and genuine motives to "Be Fair" to all parties. To that end, our endorsements will take a turn for the weird and
likely anger all readers (both Donald Trump supporters and Hillary Clinton supports -as well as surely angering all of the
so-called "3rd-party" voters, who are fed up with both Democrats & Republicans, who continue to ignore most voters' and our 'Common Sense' requests).
If we've angered all readers (yes, we probably will anger both you and your "political enemies" -which could be fun to watch while
they read our Editorial, in wide-eyed disbelief!), then perhaps this is a sign that we are unbiased -and maybe even close to correct, so here goes
nothing...
Hillary R. Clinton / Sen. Timothy M. “Tim” Kaine (DEM)
First off, the most 'Liberal' candidate is unarguably former Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton, but she has done many good things, which, to be fair,
we will outline at the offset: Clinton, who was brought up as a Methodist, once said that she thought that "abortion is wrong." [sources:
"Hillary Clinton’s Moral Conflicts on
Abortion," by Myriam Renaud, The Atlantic, Aug 6, 2016 ;
"Hillary Once Thought Abortion Was Wrong,"
by By Ken Blackwell, CP Op-Ed Contributor, The Christian Post, August 4, 2015|6:46 am] She even opposed China’s "forced abortion" & Romania’s
"forced pregnancy" polices, according to OnTheIssues, which quotes her as saying: "I went to China in 1995 and spoke out against the Chinese
government’s one child policy, which led to forced abortions and forced sterilization because I believed that we needed to bear witness against what was an
intrusive, abusive, dehumanizing effort to dictate how women and men would proceed with respect to the children they wished to have. [line-break] And then
shortly after that, I was in Romania and there I met women who had been subjected to the Communist regime of the 1970s and ‘80s where they were essentially
forced to bear as many children as possible for the good of the state. And where abortion was criminalized and women were literally forced to have physical
exams and followed by the secret police and so many children were abandoned and left to the orphanages that, unfortunately, led to an AIDS epidemic.
[source: "Hillary Clinton on Abortion, citing the Source: 2008
Democratic Compassion Forum at Messiah College, dated: April 13, 2008]
Clinton was also once pro-Marriage, and The Washington Post quoted her as follows: 'Clinton said in January 2000 that marriage does not include
gay unions: "Marriage has got historic, religious and moral content that goes back to the beginning of time and I think a marriage is as a marriage has
always been, between a man and a woman." She said she would have voted for the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, but again said she supported partnership
benefits for same-sex couples. Gay groups expressed disappointment in her position.' [sources:
"How Hillary Clinton
evolved on gay marriage, By Rachel Weiner, The Washington Post, March 18, 2013 ;
Hillary Clinton's Gay-Marriage
Problem: Until 2013, she held a position that lots of Democratic voters now regard as deeply wrongheaded., by Conor Friedersdorf, The
Atlantic, June 13, 2014 ; and, "Hillary Clinton on Abortion, which
lists her as "Previously opposed; now supports" on "Gay marriage," in the "Issues where Jeb Bush disagrees with Hillary" subheader]
While "Gay groups expressed disappointment in her position," I do not: Hillary Clinton was correct on both points. First, marriage has
historically been defined as 1-man & 1-woman for over 6,000 years. Secondly, Clinton said that "she supported partnership benefits for same-sex couples."
She is correct again: While I do not support the Government giving formal 'approval' of any nontraditional marriage (plural marriages in polygamy,
child-marriage, Same-Sex marriage, or, even
that guy who
wants to marry his own computer!), nonetheless, I feel that a
person should be able to have "partnership benefits for same-sex couples," and, for that matter, any person, gay or straight: In fact, when the government
gives 'benefits' or 'perks' to straight couples, this encourages men & women to marry for purely financial reasons, so, let's do like Clinton suggests here,
but let's expand it to *all* people, and give *everyone* a tax-break. (We are over-taxed, and this would be an appropriate solution to "protect gays,"
while making sure to not put the Government's 'stamp of approval' on any behaviour that is less than ideal, be it being obese, committing adultery &
cheating on your spouse, or any non-historic definition of marriage).
Clinton shines
Perhaps, Clinton's most impressive accomplishment was a legislative proposal that she advanced when she introduced
S.3255 - Student Borrower Bill of Rights Act of 2006, in the
109th Congress (2005-2006), while she was the junior Senator from New York (Sen. Chuck Schumer was the senior Senator). While far from perfect, Clinton's
bill was a huge step in the "right direction," as it required the Dept. of Education to vigorously enforce lender verification certificates for borrowers
seeking to consolidate loans, limits, on the basis of a borrower's income, monthly payments, additional notice regarding actual interest rates, and
(probably, most-importantly) would have amended federal bankruptcy law to discharge certain educational benefit overpayments, repayments, and student
loan debt. (What exactly would constitute "student loan debt" is unclear to me: Does this include all student debt, or only private loans? However,
something is better than nothing.)
Hillary Clinton stood tall with honour, as she defended students who were victimised by Predatory Lending. In fact, my good friend, Alan
M. Collinge, founder of StudentLoanJustice.org, was a key player who participated in a Clinton
conference call with other experts, in advocating reform on this head. However, every since then, things have gone downhill.
Clinton takes money from (and associates with) foreign interests that persecute women and gays (which should outrage 'Liberals'), and she has "flip-flopped"
on abortion and so-called 'Gay Marriage', now supporting both abortion and Same-Sex Marriage (which should outrage 'Conservatives', such as myself), but
if she defended the weak, powerless, and helpless "Debt Slaves," perhaps she could retain some respect. However, Clinton - once an ardent supporter of
reform in the highly-profitable Predatory Lending system of Higher Ed loans - has now abandoned weak & helpless College Students: Clinton has
"talked a good game," yes, but Word: She has not so much as done a thing to actually "help" college students (whether in the Senate or elsewhere -and
if you disagree, then show me where I'm wrong). While she is now offering "Free College," I doubt that she is being genuine.
I admit that Bernie Sanders' claims that we once had free and/or very-low-cost college are correct, and a good argument: The "Liberals" are right on this
point, but we frankly can not afford Free College at this time, since taxpayers guarantee these toxic, predatory loans. Some level of Loan
Forgiveness is owed to victims, due to the damages suffered from illegal Predatory Lending schemes & resultant overpayments. Therefore, Loan Forgiveness
(or, at the very least, a restoration of bankruptcy rights) -- and then a quick end to the 'College Loan' program -- would probably be more appropriate,
and we could go back to low-cost college, DEBT FREE, like we had before the Government "forced" loans onto unsuspecting students.)
Clinton has abandoned college students -- and I suspect that she was "bought off" by the Big Banks (legally, that is: By Campaign Contributions) - in the
same manner that access to the 'Clinton Foundation' was "bought off" by foreign interests, seeking favours & access. Now that I've angered
Liberals, I will surely do the same with my right-wing Conservative colleagues, so here goes nothing...
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Darrell L. Castle / Dr. Scott N. Bradley (CPF)
Next up - beyond all shadow of doubt - the most 'Conservative' ticket is unarguably Atty. Darrell L. Castle, and his running mate, Dr. Scott N. Bradley
(CPF), representing the Constitution Party. (The 'CPF' denotation on Florida ballots stands for 'Constitution Party of Florida.)
They are pro-life, support 1-man & 1-woman as the definition of marriage, pro-2nd Amendment, against governmental intrusion via 'Common Core,' and
adamantly opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens, and proclaim that "The Constitution Party opposes any extension of amnesty to illegal aliens," and
that "The Constitution Party calls for the use of U.S. troops to protect the states against invasion." Their official website quotes the current
presidential nominee in a past statement, as follows:
"The Constitution Party has always been the only national political party to stand firmly against the proposals for a “Pathway to
Citizenship/Comprehensive Immigration Reform/Amnesty” that come out of Washington. While many of these schemes by all shades of Republicans and Democrats
seek to address the out of control situation of illegal immigration, all fail to address the Rule of Law. [line-break] They [Republicans and Democrats]
ignore the fact that illegal immigration is just that: illegal. “It is somewhat analogous to redefining laws against breaking and entering so that those
engaging in such conduct would no longer be treated as criminals”, noted Darrell Castle, Constitution Party 2008 Vice Presidential Candidate."
They also state in their Foreign Policy policy statement, that they oppose
not only "UNCONSTITUTIONAL, UNDECLARED WARS," but also "steadfastly oppose American participation in any form of world government organization, including
any world court under United Nations auspices." - This is about as Conservative as you can get, right? Wrong...
However, where the Constitution Party stands truly shines is in its Higher
Education policy, which states, in part, the following: "All teaching is related to basic assumptions about God and man. Education as a whole,
therefore, cannot be separated from religious faith. The law of our Creator assigns the authority and responsibility of educating children to their
parents. Education should be free from all federal government subsidies, including vouchers, tax incentives, and loans, except with
respect to veterans." [Emphasis added in bold-face for clarity; not in original] They state this axiom in their introduction:
"Since the Constitution grants the Federal Government no authority over Education, the 10th Amendment applies:
“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to
the people.”" [Line-break and italics are in original, and copied verbatim in this small, Fair Use, quote]
Since the Constitution Party opposes any use of Federal tax dollars for Higher Ed loans, in the first place, their method, if used, would have prevented
the Higher Ed Debt Bubble that we presently see -and is similar to the Mortgage Crisis of 2008-2009, except that the housing bubble was mitigated - slowed
down - by borrowers who could file bankruptcy, and thus serve as a 'Conservative Free Market' check/balance against runaway Predatory Lending. This "check"
was not present in the Higher Ed mess.
This is, on paper, a "perfect" platform, with absolutely no flaws, in my mind, so I will be voting "Constitution Party," this November, right? Not so
quick...
QUESTION: "Why not?" -- ANSWER: The short answer is the "vote for a 3rd-party" argument, but that does not do the reader justice. The actual TRUTH is
very strange: This qualifies as "TRUTH is stranger than FICTION," so here goes nothing...
In the 2008 presidential election, I was disgusted with both Sen. Barack Obama (DEM) and Sen. John McCain (REP), as both appeared to be tax-and-spend
liberals, and so I was going to vote for Dr. Chuck Baldwin, for who was the Constitution Party candidate for president that year. My father told me that
"a vote for a 3rd party is a wasted vote." (Not, not even a vote for the opposing candidate, just a wasted vote.) Also, my cousin, Jason Lee Mattiar,
of Plant City, Fla., who was born in 1987, had just begun plans to vote in his 1st Presidential Election. While he considers himself a 'Democrat,' he is
pro-life, like me, and urged me to vote for McCain, as no 3rd party "had a chance" of winning. But, I was determined to vote for Dr. Baldwin (whose running
mate, that year, was Mr. Castle, the current presidential nominee). However, things just got real: While I was at home, minding my own business, my
cousin, Jason, called me on my cell phone. Just as it was ringing, one of my other cell phones (one without "minutes" or any "plan") started going crazy,
and "ringing." This freaked me out, and I was very angry at both Jason and my crazy cell phone. (I had "extra" cell phones, which I used to tell time,
store my contacts, or, even, in case I needed to dial 911, which is possible from phones, regardless of whether they're on a plan or not.) After I
inspected the "non-working" cell phone to see why it was even "able" to ring, it appeared (but I am still not sure) that an alarm had somehow been set, and
then gone off. This was bizarre, since I did not even know how to set the alarm on that old "backup" phone, nor do I even remember doing anything with it,
other than occasionally looking at it for the time, day, & date. So, why is this all even relevant?...
ANSWER: Since the phone was not "able" to ring, any 'ringing' of it (phone call, text, alarm, etc.) was impossible - hence, a miracle. Now, the task
becomes: If God Almighty is trying to send me "a message," what, precisely, is that message? Well, since both my father and my cousin, whom I trust,
said that I would waste my vote on a 3rd-party candidate, then the miracle, if it was one, would only be God "pointing to" someone (or some thing).
The only proximal person/place was Jason, as his call and the "angel call" both came in within seconds of one another. So, I inferred the "message
from God" to mean: 'Listen to your cousin, Jason.' That I did, and I am still, to this day. Attorney Castle, and Dr. Bradley, with all due
respect, unless you have a chance of winning (or, unless I get additional Divine directives to the contrary), I can not waste my vote on your candidacy,
but I wish you all the best. OK, I surely angered all my 3rd-party friends (who think we must vote 3rd-party, simply to 'send a message' that Democrats &
Republicans must not have a monopoly on elections), and I surely angered my Constitutional right-wing colleagues. Good progress! Moving on...
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Dr. Jill Stein / Mr. Ajamu Baraka (GRE)
My good friend, Alan Collinge supports Dr. Jill Stein, of the GREEN PARTY, as an 'Interest'
on his Facebook page, and has said that "@RanaForoohar @FT @rooseveltinst
@Demos_Org Honestly, .@DrJillStein is the only candidate even close to understanding #StudentLoans crises."
[source: https://twitter.com/alanslj/status/760082847449354241]
In all fairness, she does better than both Hillary Clinton and even business expert, Donald Trump - combined. She supports:
But is this really so good? Well, while there is a good 'historical' argument (America had free college in its past, and the best in the world, to
boot), and a good 'comparative' argument (Germany, and other advanced nations have free college), we can't afford it right now. But the "bigger" problem
is her means of achieving this:
Did you catch that? "Quantitative Easing" is simply printing up more U.S. Dollars to pay for any new toys. While Dr. Jill Stein's proposed "bailout" of all
higher-ed debt would probably be a much better investment than continual "bailing out" of "loser" banks (that keep filing bankruptcy, and begging for more
corporate handouts, bailouts, etc.), or "endless wars," Stein's plain is very, very stupid: Endless printing of money devalues the dollar. (Think: If the
Fed printed a Million Dollars for ever American, then a Million Dollars would not be worth much, now would it?)
Besides, while she is to be admired for protecting the environment and animals, she does not care to follow the Hippocratic Oath she took as a doctor,
to "do no harm" to unborn babies, nor does she respect the 6,000-years-plus+ of history on the definition of family and marriage. One CAN be "pro-marriage"
without hating gays. (In fact, almost ALL right-wingers do NOT hate gays.) I think that I will share this new find (about the Constitution Party as an
alternative to the Green Party for Higher Ed solutions) with my good friend, Mr. Alan Michael Collinge, and see what he thinks. (It's not 'rocket science,'
but, for what it's worth, Collinge is, indeed, a 'Rocket Scientist,' at least, according to his deep education - which put him deep into debt. Alan is,
all joking aside, very smart, and a dedicated warrior in the fight against Debt Slavery.) Dr. Stein, and her running mate, are nice people, but
they aren't getting my vote, this cycle.
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Gov. Gary Johnson / Gov. William Floyd “Bill” Weld (LPF)
Next "up to bat" are Gov. Gary Johnson and Gov. William Weld of the LIBERTARIAN PARTY. While the Libertarian Party is a "3rd-party," this party actually
"has a chance" of winning in the general election, as it is "inching up" in the polls. - And, as I self-identify & lean VERY STRONGLY 'Libertarian,' this
is a "match made in heaven," right? Let's take a look-see...
While they cherish the 9th and 10th Amendments, of the U.S. Constitution, regarding "States' Rights" and "personal liberty," nonetheless, a closer look is
needed:
Their platform clearly states, in point 1.5, that: "Recognizing that abortion is a
sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question
to each person for their conscientious consideration." Oh, really?
First off, this contradicts 'Conservative' gut feeling: How would they like it if "States' Rights" were used to make them a slave - or, more to the point,
to "abort" them or their loved ones? Would they like it? Of course not. (And, rightly so!)
However, this even contradicts their own platform, which, at 1.9 Self-Defense, clearly
states that: "The only legitimate use of force is in defense of individual rights—life, liberty, and justly acquired property—against aggression. This
right inheres in the individual, who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group."
Did you catch that? Their own platform says that self-defense or "defense of individual rights," such as "life," are OK. Since Gov. Johnson has told the
press repeatedly that he is "personally" pro-life, he should accept the biological and legal truth, namely that the unborn baby's life begins at
conception, when the sperm and egg unite. Thus, 1.9 supports the use of Governmental (or private) force to defend an unborn child's life, and thus
contradicts, annuls, and abrogates section 1.5. (Let me remind the reader that the Constitution Party statement, quoted above, says in relevant
part: "who may agree to be aided by any other individual or group," which - of course - would include the Government, key word 'any' to be
clear.)
Also, while I agree with 1.4's statement that "Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the government’s
treatment of individuals," meaning I do NOT support mistreatment of gays - or anyone - nonetheless, taken to its extreme, The Libertarian Party's
position would mandate that the government allow (and thus, tacitly and implicitly support) plural marriage (polygamy), child-marriage, so-called
Gay Marriage, and even
that guy who
wants to marry his own computer!. Oh, really?..
Does this mean that the Libertarian Party is OK with Muslims and Mormons (and other groups) having men be able to marry, say, ten (10) wives? This,
if taken to its logical end, is bizarre. I like Govs. Johnson and Weld, and they would be better than most other candidates (especially regarding
fiscal restraint, avoiding endless wars, etc.). - Also, this book
(Libertarians
Working For You show, on ending college subsidies with Anton Chamberlin) suggests that they are almost as good as the Constitution Party on
the higher-ed debt issue, and implying that their 'Education' section applies not just to
Public Ed, but also to Higher Ed (college) debt matters, where it says: "Education is best provided by the free market..." (Note to self: Include this
little fact when speaking with my friend, Alan, and expert in this area, and see what he says about it.)But, for the reasons mentioned above,
Gov. Johnson, and the Libertarian Party, are most assuredly not getting my vote this election cycle.
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Mr. Donald John Trump / Gov. Michael R. “Mike” Pence (REP)
That is 4 down, and 1 to go... and this just leaves "one man standing," but should I really vote for Donald Trump, who has a good number of controversial
controversies swirling around him at any one time?...
Well, for one thing, Trump has not clarified precisely how he would eliminate runaway college tuition? Does he support bankruptcy options for college
students (as his companies were able to do, even if not himself, personally)? Does he support caps on Student Loan limits, and eventual elimination of
the predatory and misguided College Loan "debt slavery" system, as Mr. Castle (and the Constitution Party) would? All this, I do not know... But, I shall
try and take a guess.
First off, let's call it the 'Jason Rule' (see above)... by the Jason Rule, I've proven that God Almighty, Himself, opposes me voting in a 3rd-party race
for president (unless they have a chance of winning and are the best choice). - At this time, no 3rd-party has a snowball's chance in Hades
of winning the presidential race. - Also, excepting the Constitution Party, which is VERY low in the polls, no 3rd-party is really the 'best' choice,
even assuming arguendo that they did have a "fair chance" at winning. - So, this eliminates all parties/candidates, excepting
Trump and Clinton. I've already shown Clinton to be a traitor to the middle-class with regard to her abandonment of the College Debt matter. (Translation:
SHE wants to be able to qualify for bankruptcy if she needs it, but the 99%, the poor student, can just 'go to hell' as far as she's concerned.)
Also, recent revelations show that both Clinton and the Democratic Party are not good at protecting American secrets from hackers (be they accidental
errors where Russian hackers get in, due to technological weaknesses, or be they unforced "careless" errors, such as Hillary Clinton using an unsecured,
private email server). - Trump, Pence, and the republican party, by contrast, have had no such breaches of security. (But, to be fair,
Republicans, as a whole, also do not care for student borrower rights to bankruptcy, as the U.S. Constitution's 'uniformity clause,' requires, in Art.I,
Sec.8., Cl.4, which states, in relevant part: "To establish...uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United
States." [Emphasis added in bold, for clarity; not in original]) -- Would Trump be any different?
Moreover, most people who have known Trump personally, for years, such as Lynn
Patton, a middle-aged African American executive, who had very difficult times, recalls how Mr. Trump, and his family, stood by her, and
has not changed her story on Trump's character - or his genuine desire
to help both minorities, gays, and national security. Also, NY Mayor,
Rudy Giuliani, who has known Trump for
years, when Trump rebuilt many sections of New York, speaks well of him. By contrast, many people (longtime Clinton friend, Dick Morris, comes to mind)
who have known the Clintons for years, do not speak well of Hillary Clinton.
Furthermore, a Historically Black, Charlotte, NC church, just now endorsed Donald Trump,
and went on to say that “Supporting Hillary is like being with an abusive ex,
one that you already know left you broken and wounded. At this point, give the new guy a chance.” (Quote: "Her past track record is a great indication
that, I don't think she's fit to lead this country - and no other country.") [source:
"Historically
black Charlotte church backs Donald Trump, by: Jenna Deery, Elsa Gillis, WSOCtv, Updated: Aug 8, 2016 - 9:56 AM]
*
Pres. Obama's brother says he's voting for Trump in November Pres. Obama's own brother, Malik Obama, is voting for Donald Trump - And Malik is a
Muslim, so if a Muslim is not offended by the so-called anti-Muslim rhetoric from Mr. Trump, why should we be? Besides: Malik is the president's brother,
and knows him, and still doesn't trust his brother's request to vote against Donald Trump.
Besides, Trump may be a bit nutty, but he is NOT dishonest (he tells the truth, even if he hurts your feelings), and, as a rich person who has financed
much of his campaign, he is not likely to be "bought off" (in the same manner as the Clinton Foundation took 'donations' from numerous ill foreign
interests, seeking access to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton).
CHILD: “Mommy, why is this happening?” (referencing Nazi shooting them dead?)
MOTHER: “I was too proud to vote for Trump.” ... proud.... pride... eh?..
PS: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” [[Proverbs 16:18 (KJV) Holy Bible]]
ELECTION 2016
Atty. Darrell L. Castle / Dr. Scott N. Bradley (CPF)
Sec. St. Hillary Rodham Clinton / Sen. Timothy Michael “Tim” Kaine (DEM)
Gov. Gary Johnson / Gov. William Floyd “Bill” Weld (LPF)
Dr. Jill Stein / Mr. Ajamu Baraka (GRE)
Mr. Donald John Trump / Gov. Michael R. “Mike” Pence (REP)
For the reasons outlined above, The Register endorses Donald Trump and Mike Pence, for President and Vice President, in the general
election, which will be held on Tuesday, November 08, 2016.
Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief, The Register
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In Polk, Hillsborough, & Orange Counties, in central Florida, absentee ballots have been mailed out, and early-voting has begun. The Register
has reviewed the key races and offers recommendations, but not without surprises. While The Register is known for far-right policies, we have
some good things to say about former Sec. of State, Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee for president (see side-pane, to the right), while eventually
giving our endorsement to NY businessman, Donald Trump, for the general election, scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. While some primaries
(such as the presidential election) have already been held, many important primary races are still undecided, and, in particular, there's something for
everybody in the Florida Statewide Primary Election, slated to be held in a week, on Tuesday, August the 30th, 2016. Helpful links, in this regard, are
the following: PolkElections.org *
VoteHillsborough.org *
OcfElections.com *
dos.MyFlorida.com/elections *
dos.elections.MyFlorida.com/candidates *
Google.com * Yahoo.com *
Bing.com
One of Florida's senate seats, held by incumbent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), is up for grabs.
The Democratic Primary (Tue. Aug. 30, 2016) features 5 candidates: Roque "Rocky" DeLaFuente; Orlando Congressman, Alan Grayson; Pam Keith; Reginald
Luster; and, Port St. Lucie Congressman, Patrick Murphy. All 5 candidates seem to be moderate to liberal, but otherwise patriotic and intelligent.
Luster's website, for example, calls on increased HigherEd grants (good), but it is short-sighted in its promise that he would "Increase U.S. Department of
Education funding to purchase high interest rate, private sector student loans." This, of course, would distort the Free Market, inducing college to jack
up tuition to match increased borrowing abilities of cash-strapped students. DeLaFuente is vague on HigherEd issues, and Keith does not address them in her
website, as of the date of publication. Grayson is mired in a bitter divorce settlement, but he is well-known for his "Co-sponsoring legislation to return
bankruptcy rights to Americans struggling with student loan debt." The Register endorses Alan Grayson for the Democratic nomination for
Florida Senator.
The Libertarian Party of Florida holds a primary (Tue. Aug. 30, 2016) for 2 candidates: criminal defense lawyer, Augustus Invictus, 33, and Paul Stanton,
31, a U.S. Army veteran and information technology specialist. Both candidates seem to support the 2nd amendment, oppose foreign military intervention, and
both oppose the so-called U.S. Government's "war on drugs," and thus, both candidates appear to be genuine Libertarians, in that regard. While
St. Peter's Blog lists Stanton
ahead "22-12 percent, with 65.8 percent undecided" in the primary, Invictus has the support of well-known Libertarian advocate, Raquel Okyay, according
to his official website and
Audio Visual Network News
related to refusal to debate and refusal to denounce alleged threats by Charles Peralo, a Stanton supporter. Okyay's concerns appear to be
genuine, as she has a good reputation within the Libertarian community, if a tie-breaker is needed. However, The Register withholds formal
endorsement in this primary, due to lack of additional information.
The Republican Primary (Tue. Aug. 30, 2016) features 4 candidates: Manatee County land developer and businessman, Carlos Beruff; Dr. Ernie Rivera, an
ordained minister with a Doctor in Ministry in Leadership (in progress); Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the incumbent senator; and, Officer Dwight Mark Anthony
Young, a former Detention Deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, until having quit to run for Senate. All 4 candidates appear to be genuine
Conservatives, with Sen. Rubio getting an impressive 77% Scorecard by
Conservative Review, known for it's difficult standards
in gauging conservative actions, votes, and stances taken by elected officials. However, with all due respect to the senator, he scores the lowest of
the 4 candidates by The Register's review. While all 4 seem to be pro-life, pro-2nd-Amendment, and fiscal conservatives, there is a large amount
of daylight between them on other key economic issues. Rubio, for example, has refused steadfastly to cosponsor legislation like H.R.449, which would
return bankruptcy to college loans, offering a "Conservative Free Market" check against predatory lending, and resultant tuition inflation that occurs when
lenders/colleges knows students have deep pockets to borrow. Beruff's campaign office was polite when The Register inquired, but never returned
our press inquiry regarding either the bankruptcy issue (curative) or a proposal to reduce loan limits in the 1st place (preventative, and with the aim to
get "smaller government," until the government is out of lending or guaranteeing loans with tax dollars, necessary to prevent another crash of the U.S.
Dollar). Rivera was not available to speak with The Register, and his website's HigherEd section linked to the official GOP website, which, while
better than average, nonetheless was OK with allowing college loans to continue. To Rivera's credit, however, both he, and Dr. Moses, who was manning
his campaign office when The Register called, both seemed to be genuine moral and fiscal conservatives, and Moses, a Th.D. in theology, took
time to make an excellent effort to inform this writer. Ofcr. Young, himself, was able to clarify The Register's questions, and assured this
writer that he supported allowing college borrowers the same defenses afforded all other borrowers. Young, a Jamaican-American, has done well in
integrating into America's culture, and supports "legal" immigration, but opposed "illegal" immigration, rightly opposing others who "jump ahead" of others
who were in line earlier to become American Citizens. The Register endorses Dwight Mark Anthony Young for the Republican nomination for
Florida Senator, but we give honourable mention to Dr. Ernesto J. "Ernie" Rivera for his excellent track-record in life as a genuine Conservative, whose
Puerto Rican heritage and high morals are positive assets.
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There are other races for Congress in the lower chamber (the House, as opposed to the senate) in central Florida.
The Tue. Aug. 30, 2016 primary for U.S. Representative (Dist. 9) will feature 4 democrats: Kissimmee businesswoman & college instructor, Valleri Crabtree;
Dr. Dena Grayson (the wife of Rep. Alan Grayson, D-FL-9th, who just recently concluded a lengthy and ugly divorce to Lolita Grayson);
anti-gov-Rick-Scott grassroots activist, Susannah Randolph; and Fla. State Senator, Darren Soto. All 4 seem to be intelligent and well-intentioned, but
Dr. Grayson seems to have the slight edge on intangible, but real, abilities to actually fix the problems for the middle-class. The "coat-tails" effect
works in her favour, as we have already endorsed her husband, Rep. Alan Grayson, who is a solid advocate for the middle-class and college student. Moreover,
Heavy.com reports that: "[Alan]
Grayson Was Married to His First Wife for 25 Years; the Couple Had 5 Children Together." This obvious integrity on his part only helps the coattails effect
for his new wife. While they are both surely not as Conservative as we would like, nonetheless, The Register endorses Dr. Dena Grayson
for the Democratic nomination in this primary.
This primary also features 2 Republicans: St. Cloud FL businessman, Wayne Liebnitzky; and, Kissimmee FL, vice-mayor, Wanda Y. Rentas. The campaign websites
of both candidates seem vague regarding Higher Education, and this is troubling, as Higher Education is the "backbone of America." (America presently has
a "broken back," by this definition.) Both candidates seem to be genuine Conservatives and responsible neighbours; however, this writer, when attending
the recent "Puerto Rican" political hobnob (hosted by the Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Polk County), saw Rentas in attendance (and Democratic primary
opponent, Soto, discussed above), but Liebnitzky was absent. This writer also spoke with Rentas, and while we did not have a chance to go into great detail,
she seemed amenable to responsible economic policies in higher education. The Register endorses Wanda Rentas for the Republican nomination
in this primary, which is slated for Tue. Aug. 30, 2016, the same day as the above.
U.S. Representative (Dist. 12)
Rep. Gus Michael Bilirakis (R-FL-12th), the incumbent Republican congressman; and, criminal defense attorney, Robert Matthew Tager, are the only 2
candidates in this race, slated to be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, in the GENERAL ELECTION, since, in the Primary Race, both candidates "Qualified"
and also were "Unopposed" in the Primary. - Atty. Tager opposes H.R.25, the Fair Tax bill, which Bilirakis supports: This is troubling (since the Fair Tax
would simplify the tax system, since the government would have to police only large retailers, and not every citizen), but Tager seems genuine in his
attempt to see both sides of the bill: "Some how this just does not seem fairer. Not to mention, I see no tax on the purchase of investments and none on
the sale so this is a freebie for the super rich...Anyone who reads this different and interprets it differently, let me know."
Source: "Tagerforcongress" on FACEBBOK post
This writer is not an expert on the Fair Tax, but one rebuttal to this argument has been that Big Business already gets tax breaks, and so this would
do little, if anything, to give the rich additional breaks. Also, neither candidate is clear on HigherEd economic policy. Republicans are traditionally
more reluctant to support bankruptcy for college loans (which is bad, since Bankruptcy is a 'Conservative Free Market' check against predatory lending),
but Democrats are typically more willing to allow huge College Loan Limits to increase (which is dangerous, as this induces skyrocketing tuition
inflation). The Register withholds endorsement of either candidate pending further investigation of both the Fair Tax and the HigherEd
issues. NOTE: This race will be held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, in the GENERAL ELECTION, since, in the Primary Race, both candidates "Qualified" and
also were "Unopposed" in the Primary.
UPDATE on Wed. 24 Aug. 2016 - Mr. Tager provided The Register with a detailed answer to clarify his views on
the "Fair Tax" matter, yesterday, and I'm just now updating this news item. Click here to see his reply, corrected only for
spelling, format, etc., and with minimal editorial comments to define terms. He has said he needs more time to study the HigherEd matter. Rep.
Bilirakis' office was good enough to take our questions, but they have not replied as of press time. ~Editor, Gordon W. Watts
U.S. Representative (Dist. 13)
This race features 2 Republicans [Mark Bircher and incumbent Congressman, Rep. David W. Jolly (R-FL-13th)] in a primary, held Tue. Aug. 30, 2016. The
winner will face former Gov. Charlie Crist, the Democratic nominee, in the general election on Tue. Nov. 8, 2016.
U.S. Representative (Dist. 14)
This race had no primary challenges, and thus, incumbent Congresswoman, Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL-14th) will face Republican challenger, Christine Quinn,
the Democratic nominee, in the general election on Tue. Nov. 8, 2016.
U.S. Representative (Dist. 15)
In District 15, there this writer lives, Lutz businessman, Jim Lange, a Democrat, is challenging incumbent Republican Congressman, Rep. Dennis A. Ross
(R-FL-15th). Since neither drew primary challengers, they both get a first-round "bye" and sit out the primaries. They are on the general election
ballot, scheduled for Tue. Nov. 8, 2016. Both are fairly conservative on key issues, with Lange being vehemently opposed to partial birth abortion, even
if a bit less opposed to abortion as a legal right. Lange, an expert consultant in the private sector, is also fiscally conservative, and supports the
aforementioned Conservative solutions to the higher education Bubble mess, including bankruptcy for college loans. Lange is also very concerned with excess
spending in our budget, which makes him a tough challenger for Ross, in POLK County's District 15, a 'Red State' right-leaning Conservative district. Ross,
while he has espoused support for bankruptcy options for college loans (curative) and reducing obscene college loan limits (preventative), has yet to act
upon these beliefs by introducing or cosponsoring bills to this effect. Both candidates appear very Conservative to this writer on many key issues. Both
men are truly men of integrity with excellent listening skills, genuine integrity, and decent respect for all persons, whether poor or rich, straight or
gay, and either would be responsive to their constituents; but, in a 1-position race, only 1 person can win the office: While Lange is not as
'Conservative' as this writer would like him, he is close enough to Ross that the higher-ed issue will be a referendum (read: tie-breaker) as to which way
this writer will vote come November, and regarding editorial endorsements whereof. See the front-page news of The Register for further details on
this issue.
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Brian Haas, a Republican candidate for this partisan office, to replace POLK County, State Attorney, Jerry Hill, who is retiring, ran unopposed, and is
considered "automatically elected" by Florida State Election Law.
State Attorney (Cir. 13)
State Atty. Mark Ober, the Republican incumbent in this race, will face Andrew Warren, the Democratic challenger in the November general election,
as neither drew primary challengers.
Public Defender (Cir. 10)
Public Defender, Rex Dimming, the Republican incumbent in this race, will face Democratic challenger, Flora "Tonya" Stewart, in the November general
election.
Public Defender (Cir. 13)
State Atty. Julianne M. Holt, the incumbent Democrat, was unchallenged in her bid for reelection as 13th Circuit Public Defender.
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The Aug. 30, 2016 primary for this race features 4 Democratic challengers, Edwin "Ed" Narain; Betty Reed; Augie Ribeiro; and, Darryl Ervin Rouson. The
winner of that race will face John "Mr. Manners" Houman, the Republican candidate, in November.
Fla. State Senator (Districts 20, 21, and 26)
Republicans, Tom Lee, Bill Galvano, and Denise Grimsley all ran unopposed in these races, respectively, and are considered automatically elected
to office.
Fla. State Senator (Dist. 22)
Republican incumbent, Sen. Kelli Stargel, will face Democratic challenger, Debra S. Wright, in the November election, and both will sit out the
primaries next week, as neither drew a primary challenger. This writer has known Senator Stargel for years, since he lives in her Senatorial district,
and was also a constituent when she was in the State House of Representatives. This writer also got to speak with Ms. Wright at the recent "Puerto Rican"
political hobnob (hosted by the Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Polk County), and Wright was kind enough to confirm that she was not only totally
pro-life but also totally pro-marriage. (I.e., while we most certainly don't hate gays, many of us are against so-called 'Gay Marriage.) I add this to
clarify a popular misconception: Many Democrats are, indeed, very, very Conservative, and this is important for them to share with voters, especially in
the right-leaning Polk County region of Central Florida. While Wright felt that she could be more responsive to constituents, she said that she agreed
with some of the legislative acts that Stargel had done. This writer found both of them to have excellent communication skills and willingness to listen
and act. Both candidates seem qualified to represent Polk County in the Fla. State Senate, and so The Register will withhold formal
endorsement in this race.
NOTE:The Register is not providing details or endorsements in all races, as a practical matter of limited
time/money/energy resources, for the sake of brevity. The reader is encouraged to study the candidates and issues in your races, and obtain "Sample
Ballots" from your polling place to aid you in so-doing. ~Editor, Gordon W. Watts
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Incumbent Republican, Rep. Neil Combee, will face Democratic challenger, Victor Sims, in the general election in November, as neither drew a primary
challenger.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 40)
Republican incumbent, Rep. Colleen Burton, will face Democratic challenger, Dr. Shandale Terrell, in the November election, and both will sit out the
primaries next week, as neither drew a primary challenger. This writer has known Representative Burton for years, since he lives in her state house
district, and is, therefore, a constituent. This writer got to speak with Dr. Terrell, who has a Doctoral Degree in Education, at the recent "Puerto
Rican" political hobnob (hosted by the Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Polk County), and he was kind enough to confirm that he was not only totally
pro-life but also totally pro-marriage. (I.e., while we most certainly don't hate gays, many of us are against so-called 'Gay Marriage.) However, unlike
Ms. Wright, Dr. Terrell informed me that he reluctantly supported the so-called "Gay Marriage" ruling which the Supreme Court recently handed down, even
though Dr. Terrell was adamantly against the moral concept of 'Gay Marriage,' itself. When I asked him why he supported so-called 'Gay Marriage,' even
against his moral beliefs, Terrell he said that he felt that, in this political climate, this was the only way to prevent gays from being mistreated. While
I would have taken a different route (one that did not formally offer Government endorsement of gay marriage), nonetheless, I whole-heatedly agree that we
must fight tooth-and-nail to prevent gays (and, for that matter, anyone) from mistreatment, bias, or hatred. I add this to clarify a popular misconception:
Many Democrats are, indeed, very, very Conservative, and this is important for them to share with voters, especially in the right-leaning Polk County
region of Central Florida. This writer found both Burton and Terrell to have excellent communication skills and willingness to listen and act. Both
candidates seem qualified to represent Polk County in the Fla. State House, and so The Register will withhold formal endorsement in this
race.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 41)
Bob Doyel faces Nicolas Garcia in the Democratic Primary for this race. Charles Davis faces Sam Killebrew in the Republican Primary for this race. The
winner of each primary will face off in the November general election.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 42)
Mike LaRosa (REP) and Benny Valentin (DEM) were both 'Unopposed' in their primaries, and they will sit it out until they face off, in the November
general election.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 56)
Rep. Ben Albritton, the Republican incumbent, will face David C. Poulin, the Democratic challenger, in the November general election, as they both
were unopposed in the Primaries.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 57)
Jake Raburn (REP), the incumbent, was unopposed and is considered automatically reelected.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 58)
Republican incumbent, Rep. Daniel D. Raulerson, representing Plant City, FLA, in the state house, will face Democratic challenger, Jose N.
Vazquez-Figueroa, in the November general election, as neither drew primary challengers.
Fla. State Representative (Dist. 59)
Rep. Ross Spano, the Republican incumbent, who had no primary challenger, will face the winner of the Democratic primary race between Democrats,
Rena Frazier and Naze Sahebzamani.
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Florida State Supreme Court Justices, Charles T. Canady; Jorge Labarga; and, Ricky L. Polston, will be up for a "retention" vote in this nonpartisan
race, as will numerous state appellate court judges, in the 5 State Appellate Courts.
County Judge Group 4 (Cir. 10)
Incumbent Judge, Mary Catherine Green; and, Polk Attorney, L. Mark Kaylor, were set to face off in this race, but Kaylor dropped out, making Green the
automatic winner. You will receive the following notice if you try to vote: "NOTICE: A candidate in the race for the office of County Judge Group 4 has
withdrawn. A vote cast in this race will not change the outcome."
County Judge Group 8 (Cir. 10)
Long-time, incumbent Judge, Susan Lee Barber-Flood faces former assistant state attorney, Carson Bassett, who currently is a Geico (insurance company)
lawyer, in the civil litigation division. This may prove to be the most interesting race of the election. The Ledger
had previously reported that "The Florida Supreme
Court has ruled that Polk County Judge Susan Barber Flood should receive a public reprimand for her relationship with her courtroom bailiff, James "Bubba"
Maxcy III." [source: 'Court: Publicly Reprimand Polk County's Judge Susan Barber Flood: Justices call Flood's "inappropriate relationship" with bailiff
"unacceptable",' By John Chambliss, THE LEDGER, Published: Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 11:26 p.m.]
While a close friendship (in this case, a romantic relationship) with an employee -over whom the judge exercises supervisory authority- is clearly
inappropriate, nonetheless: it would not be a "Federal Matter" (or preclude her from serving) if the judge avoided ruling on any case where the employee
was in court. And, while "bias" is a legitimate complaint, it was a one-time offense; therefore, so long as judge removed herself from being his boss
(one of them would have to 'transfer' or quit), and if she then apologised (which she did in her Supreme Court review), we don't see why she should be
fired or forced to step down.
However, The Ledger went on to report that "Maxcy retired from his job with the Polk County Sheriff's Office in November 2013, citing a medical
condition," and that "[Circuit Judge Beth] Harlan [who was accused of approving false time cards for her judicial assistant, Alisha Rupp, who had reported
the romantic relationship between Barber and Maxcy] retired March 26 in exchange for prosecutors dropping criminal charges against her."
It gets worse: The Ledger also
reported that "A complaint filed with the
Florida Elections Commission states that county judge candidate Carson Bassett violated state statutes when his wife attended a fundraiser for State
Attorney candidate Brian Haas in April," in what some called a disguised attempt to evade Florida Statute 105.071, which prohibits partisan political
activities from judicial candidates, but Brock Mikosky, Bassett's campaign manager disputed this, claiming that Carson wasn't even a "filed candidate"
for this position when the invitation went out and that "He had nothing to do with the formation of the host committee or the distribution of the
invitation." [source: 'Complaint filed against Polk judge candidate with the state elections commission,' By John Chambliss, The Ledger,
Published: Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at 9:59 p.m.] Nothing sustentative ever came of this, and the campaign progresses: The Ledger just
reported that: "The Florida
Elections Commission has rejected a complaint that county judge candidate Carson Bassett violated state statutes when his wife attended a fundraiser for
state attorney candidate Brian Haas in April." [source: 'Election 2016: County Judge — Complaint against Bassett rejected: Elections Commission says it
does not have jurisdiction over judge's races,' By John Chambliss, The Ledger, Published: Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 9:26 p.m.]
To further complicate matters, "A prominent Lakeland lawyer [Ron Clark, a founding partner of Clark, Campbell, Lancaster & Munson] has sent a letter to
some circuit and county judges in Bartow asking them to contribute money to the campaign of Carson Bassett, a candidate for county judge," according to
The Ledger: "Lakeland lawyer mistakenly sends
letter asking for campaign donations to judges," By John Chambliss, The Ledger, Published: Friday, August 5, 2016 at 10:33 p.m. This was a
mistake on the part of Clark, and all parties admitted that Bassett had nothing to do with this: Clark reported that he instructed an assistant to send
"the letter to 1,000 friends whose addresses he has saved for events he may hold, such as barbecues," but which should not have included judges, who are
not allowed to participate in political events or give endorsements, such as to Bassett's candidacy.
But the alleged misconduct didn't stop there: While the final investigation did not prove any sexual relationship had occurred, as some accusers had
alleged, nonetheless, Judge Susan Barber-Flood almost certainly lied to investigators about alleged conversations with four (4) other judges:
'"Several circuit judges recalled speaking to Flood because they were concerned about her behavior, investigators wrote, but Flood denied any judge had
come to her with concerns. [line-break] "Either Judge Flood is being dishonest or four circuit judges conspired to concoct a story that they were each
concerned about Flood's behavior — something that is just not believable," the report states.' [source:
"State Attorney Criticizes Polk Judges After
Investigation," By JASON GEARY, THE LEDGER, Published: Friday, September 13, 2013 at 10:17 p.m.
Barber-Flood also took a peek into confidential files, an action that may constitute a violation of State Laws and/or professional codes of conduct:
"Flood was unaware she was being video-recorded in her interview, and the report states she was recorded getting up during a break and looking at the
"confidential case files" of an investigator who had been questioning her," The Ledger reports. '"It has often been said that character is what we
do when we think no one is looking. … The judge's actions speak volumes about her character and it exemplifies how she handled the issues surrounding the
investigation," the report states. [line-break] "She ignorantly thought that as a judge, she was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted and believed
that others should not be concerned with her conduct and actions. She seemed unconcerned and indifferent about the respectability of her
behavior."' Ibid.
These allegations were backed up by Tampa Bay's WFTS-TV-28, ABC Action News:
'"At one point during the interview with investigators, Judge Flood is caught on camera looking at confidential documents when the others leave the
room. [line-break] "She ignorantly thought that as a judge, she was free to do what she wanted, when she wanted and believed that others should not be
concerned with her conduct and actions," [POLK COUNTY, State Attorney, Jerry] Hill wrote.'
[source:
"
Polk judge arrested, while another is accused of "inappropriate behavior" with bailiff: Judge Susan Flood admits to kissing bailiff," by Ryan Raiche,
ABC Action News (WFTS-TV-28), POSTED: 7:37 PM, Sep 16, 2013; UPDATED: 4:24 PM, Mar 4, 2015. Copyright 2013 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed -except as permitted by FAIR USE, for research, commentary, etc.]
In all seriousness, this writer thinks both candidates are probably qualified to be a judge, and, indeed, the 'experience' argument is bandied about
by some to support Barber-Flood's candidacy for reelection in a rare challenge to her seat. However, some critics have a point being concerned about this
argument: Should we have left Pres. Nixon in office (during the infamous 'Watergate' scandal) due to his "experience?" - Oh, really?
Lastly, when I (political writer, Gordon Watts) got a chance to interview both candidates at the recent "Puerto Rican" political hobnob (hosted by the
Puerto Rican Hispanic Chamber of Polk County), I asked Bassett why I should vote for him, and he informed me that Barber peeked at confidential files,
apparently not enough to get her arrested, but certainly enough to raise the ire of State Atty., Jerry Hill, whom I've almost never known to go after the
'Establishment' types (as is sitting-judge, Susan Barber). However, I had not had the benefit of seeing the ABC or Ledger news reports.
When I asked Barber about the allegation that Bassett made regarding her peeking into the files, she informed me that I was misinformed. Later
investigation found that she had tried to deceive me with her answer. Granted, it is possible she may have misunderstood me - but I did not
misunderstand her: she could have as easily admitted the truth. That she did not.
Am I making too much hay over being lied to once? I don't know, but how would you like to be lied to? She was on shaky ground after calling four (4)
sitting judges liars, and this after the courthouse affair (which I think has been overblown by nosy outsiders - a mistake on her part, but not
necessarily a disqualifying mistake). She made repeated mistakes, four (4) mistakes, by my last count (1.inappropriate relationship ; 2.calling four judges
liars ; 3.peeking into confidential files ; and, lastly: 4.herself lying to my face: This sitting judge lied to my face when she said that I had been
misinformed in response to my question about Bassett's comments to me that she peeked into a file. - I have my doubts, it's safe to say, about her
qualifications.
Based on the foregoing, The Register endorses Carson Bassett for the 10th Judicial Circuit (Polk County), County Judge Group 8. But, as
human as Judge Barber is, many of us might have 'peeked' into a file that had our name on it; and, so we should not be too harsh on her, in our thoughts,
words, or deeds. "However, a line was crossed when she lied about 4 other sitting judges, and then lied to to my face about about her curiosity to
peek into the forbidden file." (Editor, Gordon W. Watts, speaking for himself)
County Judge Group 3 (Cir. 13)
In the 13th Judicial Circuit (Hillsborough County), another nonpartisan race to elect circuit judges, Robin Fernandez Fuson and Carl Hinson face off in
the primary election.
County Judge Group 24 (Cir. 13)
In Group 24, another 13th Circuit judicial race, Isabel "Cissy" Boza-Sevelin; Gary Dolgin; Melissa Polo; and, Lanell Williams-Yulee compete for your
vote this primary election.
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In the nonpartisan race for Sheriff in Polk County, Fla., Sheriff Grady Judd, the incumbent, faces, Michael Lashman, who qualified as a Write-In candidate.
Both men have work experience in Law Enforcement.
Sheriff (Hillsborough County)
In the nonpartisan race for Sheriff in Hillsborough County, Fla., Sheriff David Gee, the incumbent, will apparently be reelected automatically: As of
press time, his only potential opponent, Kevin S. Carrier, appears to have not qualified to run.
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Bill Braswell and J.C. Martin, both Republicans, face each other in a Primary, which will be held on Tue. Aug. 30, 2016, but, unlike most other primary
races this day, all voters will be allowed to vote: since no other parties put forth a candidate, this will be a "Universal Primary Contest," and open
to all registered voters in this district. Due to a recent change in the Fla. State Constitution, Florida, which is normally a "closed-primary state," will
allows all voters to participate in this primary. Both candidates are genuine Conservative Republicans and appear qualified, but J.C. Martin gets the nod,
as there is an intangible outsider, anti-establishment quality. The Register endorses J.C. Martin for County Commissioner.
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Hunt Berryman, the incumbent; Dr. Franklin Edward "Mr. Ed" Shoemaker; and, Billy Townsend, a former Ledger assistant News Editor, are vying
for this school board position. All 3 candidates seem qualified, but Townsend takes issue with the incumbent for alleged lack of oversight in the recent
incidents related to former Superintendent, Kathryn LeRoy, which eventually resulted in her being replaced. Moreover, Townsend's campaign was recently
seen with a huge banner sign on S. Fla. Avenue in south Lakeland, and then this writer discovered a small business card on his vehicle after a trip to the
local southside Wal-Mart. While some may find this annoying, I (speaking only for myself) was impressed with the efforts that Townsend has put into his
campaign. (And, he had a huge billboard to explain various tests that he claimed were excessive, in his speech at the Polk hobnob, discussed above.)
Townsend has an intangible extra quality of effort & momentum, and would no doubt keep a watchful eye on the district (and has said he is OK with
testing, so long as it is productive and not overdone), but Dr. Shoemaker, who has just recently completed his Ph.D in Psychology, and is a well-liked
counselor, gets the nod: Ed has been a veteran of many political races, often running as an underdog or 3rd-party candidate. Not only has he, too, put in
an impressive effort, but he has paid his dues, and gained much-needed experience for this often difficult job. The Register endorses
Dr. Franklin Shoemaker, Ph.D. (aka Mr. Ed) for this school board position.
POLK School Board Member District 2
Rev. Ronnie L. Clark; incumbent, Lori Cunningham; Dr. Tim James; and, Dundee, Fla. businessman, Kevin J. Kitto, are are all 4 competing for this position.
All four seem very qualified. Cunningham, the incumbent, has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from USF, among other accomplishments.
Dr. James, superintendent at New Direction Academy, a state-certified private school in Haines City, Fla., has his doctoral degree in education from
Northcentral University. Kitto feels that he can use his business skills to keep the Polk School system running smoothly. However, Rev. Clark, who presides
over Hurst Chapel AME Church, in Winter Haven, Fla., gets our endorsement: Not only has Clark previously been a school board member, but he seems to have
the most compelling case: He has his Bachelor of Science in Education from FAMU, and he is working on his Masters in Theology at Payne Theological
Seminary. More-importantly, Clark, who spoke with this writer, has excellent speaking & listening skills, and a solid grasp on deep theological subjects.
But the most impressive things was the fact that Clark didn't mind discussing subjects (such as theological issues) that were undoubtedly a bit off-topic.
He also has an impressively good grasp on the predatory lending system that will face his Polk School students once they reach higher education. As stated
earlier, all the candidates seemed motivated & talented, but there can be only one: The Register endorses Rev. Ronnie Clark for this
school board position.
POLK School Board Member District 4
The POLK County, Fla., Dist. 4 School Board races features 4 qualified candidates: Sara Beth Reynolds; Rebekah Ricks; County Commissioner, Ed Smith;
and, Becky Troutman. That seat is being vacated by Dick Mullenax, who is currently serving his second four-year term (which expires 11/14/16) and is
unable to run again because of term limits. Reynolds is a recent graduate from U.F.'s College of Journalism and Communications, has participated in many
civic activities related to public education, and seems motivated & sincere. Ricks is a homeschool teacher and founder of The Homeschool Connection,
which provided a physical location for teachers to tutor students. Troutman, a local businesswoman, is a school psychologist, and has public-ed experience,
as a teacher and guidance counselor. Smith is a current Polk County Commissioner, and would no doubt try to "streamline government, create efficiencies
and consolidate efforts without comprising service," in the school system, like tries to do in his current job. All 4 candidates are qualified, and a
slight edge might go to Smith, who will have free time when his current job ends this November. However, Ricks' appearance as a higher-ed advocate is
bolstered by her husband, whom this writer knows somewhat: Since he is known to be a genuine Conservative in all regards, the "coat tails" effect, here,
effectively breaks the tie. This "non-traditional" means of breaking a tie is not without support from the actual record: Rebecca Ricks not only tutors
students, but has also been a therapy aid to special needs children; has also done volunteer work for a local juvenile detention centre; and, with 15 years
of experience as a teacher, Ricks has a solid Public Education record. All 4 candidates are solidly qualified, but the edge goes to Ricks: The
Register endorses Rebekah Ricks for this school board position.
*** Click here to jump back to the top of the page. ***
L. Tracy Mercer and Mark Remmel are competing for this nonpartisan position. [Note: Only voters who live in the Lake Region Lakes Management District
can vote in this race.]
Solar Devices or Renewable Energy Source Devices; Exemption From Certain Taxation and Assessment Proposing an amendment to the State Constitution to
authorize the Legislature, by general law, to exempt from ad valorem taxation the assessed value of solar or renewable energy source devices subject to
tangible personal property tax, and to authorize the Legislature, by general law, to prohibit consideration of such devices in assessing the value of
real property for ad valorem taxation purposes. This amendment takes effect January 1, 2018, and expires on December 31, 2037.
This would add a section to the Florida State Constitution to exempt taxation on the increased value that solar devices would add to personal property.
(In other words, the tax assessor would have to treat the assessment as if the device did not exist.) This is good in 2 ways: First, it removes a
penalty from those who would 'go solar' to protect the environment. Secondly, we are taxed way too much, as it is. The Register
strongly recommends a 'Yes' vote on this popular proposed amendment.
REPUBLICAN State Committeewoman
Debbie Hannifan; Linda DeLozier Ivell; and, Tonya A. Sharrett-Shoemaker are running for this partisan position. Only registered Republicans can vote in
this race. All three (3) candidates seem very qualified and genuine Conservatives. Hannifan's online posts suggest that she is strongly supportive of
Conservative and Republican candidates, and is, herself, a true-North conservative. This writer personally knows Ivell, a local realtor, and knows of her
dedication and commitment to making sure we do our job down to the fine details. I do not know Sharrett-Shoemaker, but I do know her husband, Dr. Ed
Shoemaker. While Shoemaker may lack a bit of experience in political matters, I trust that she is a genuine Conservative. This is yet another example of
the "coat-tails" effect, reputation by association, where Shoemaker benefits from her husband's good name & reputation. Shoemaker also has public-ed
experience as a school teacher, which suggests that the coat-tails-effect tie-breaker is not without justification. While all 3 candidates are
qualified, there can be only 1: NOTE: This race, and the one below, will both be on the Primary, not the general, election ballot.
The Register endorses Tonya A. Sharrett-Shoemaker for REPUBLICAN State Committeewoman.
REPUBLICAN State Committeeman
J.C. Martin and Dr. Ed Shoemaker, both of whom are concurrently running for other positions (risky in the view of some, as it may be too much work) are
also running for this partisan position. While both are certainly qualified, Dr. Shoemaker has the slight intangible edge in outsider, anti-establishment
quality. The fact that his wife, Tonya, is also politically-involved, has a 'coat-tails' effect on his reputation, as well, giving him another slight,
additional edge. The Register endorses Dr. Ed Shoemaker for REPUBLICAN State Committeewoman.
NOTE: In "Primary" day races in which there are 3 or more candidates seeking a nonpartisan position, the winner will be the person who gets
a majority (at least 50% 'plus 1') of the vote. If no candidate receives the required "50% + 1 vote," a runoff election will be held on the General
Election ballot. - Now, study the candidates, the issues, get plenty of sleep, and then go out and vote: Someone paid the price for this privilege.
~ Gordon Wayne Watts, Editor-in-Chief, The Register
*** Click here to jump back to the top of the page. ***
Below is Mr. Tager's response to my press inquiry about his views on the 'Fair Tax' and on the Higher-Ed issues discussed
herein regarding his race for U.S. Representative (Dist. 12) against incumbant, Rep. Gus Bilirakis:
In a message dated 8/23/2016 11:41:54 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, {Robert Tager} writes:
When do you need a response by? I appreciate your credentials and your openness on your conservative views. I am asking about when you need my response
by because I would like to provide you with a full answer and why the rationale, that businesses already get all the tax breaks, is incorrect. I am
not against the entire bill. I can see the benefits of a flat tax, one that is fair. Please let me know when you need my response.
Thank you
Tager
In an undated response by Facebook, he clarified as follows:
Gordon Wayne Watts I understood that was not your rebuttal, but rather the
rebuttal of the supporters [of the fair tax]. Just because it cuts red tape, does not make it good. I can find a way to cut the red tape from the IRS,
simplify the tax code, and make it so the government collects the revenues it needs. It is not hard but there must be courage enough by everyone else to
stand up to the special interests.
And, he followed up with a "regular" email:
In a message dated 8/23/2016 1:47:34 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, {Robert Tager} writes:
First let me say I do not oppose modifying our tax system, and I am not opposed to a flat tax. My objections to this bill are several. First, In response
to the following , "This writer is not an expert on the Fair Tax, but one rebuttal to this argument has been that Big Business already gets tax breaks,
and so this would do little, if anything, to give the rich additional breaks" I say this: The rebuttal fails because it presupposes that the Big Tax
breaks given to "Big Business" and the "rich" are good for the economy, middle class, and the Country. If big tax breaks for Big Business and the Rich
created jobs, as supply side economics, (a/k/a trickle down economics, voodoo economics), claims, [then] we would be a booming country right now. Look at
where we are. Profits are at all time highs, Profit margins at all times high, CEO and Executive Salaries at all time highs, big business's are sitting on
the largest pile of cash on hand as any time in history. Tax breaks are not needed for corporations to create jobs. They have plenty of cash. Interest rates
are the lowest in history, and financing expansion is easily affordable. Financing is great because debt on company books has traditionally been seen as
good and as a means of cash flow control, maximizing profits, as the interest is deductible, and they can keep their cash on hand to take advantage of new
opportunities. Rather than borrow money, at no real expense, to expand and/or hire, Big Corporations with their activist Rich board members choose instead
to borrow money for stock buyback. This does not create jobs, but it increases the Rich and Institutional Investors positions in companies without having
to spend their own money. Anyway, the idea that by giving huge tax breaks, or allowing them to not pay any taxes at all or minimum taxes, is absurd and is
one of the big drivers of our huge deficit. Aside from supply side economics, this position is fostered by the mistaken belief that taxes are punishment.
If I hear one more time, "We should reward success and not punish it," I will puke. The reward from success is 1) the satisfaction of the accomplishment,
and 2) the rewards wealth brings including multiple homes, homes on other continents, multiple cars, vacations, private jets, the best food, medical care,
best education for children, ability to leave in death security for your family, the ability to allow money to work for them for income so they can pursue
other interests, influence, and all the other things wealth brings. I am very successful and wealthy. I am alive, have great family, great kids, I love
and am loved, and enjoy life, and I usually make enough to pay my bills and have some savings. I would argue that I am as successful as a billionaire that
is miserable, but I still have to pay taxes. Tax avoidance or forgiveness is not a reward for success; it is the product of being rich and buying
politicians. It is the product of bribery. So, the presumption that because they are now able to pay almost no taxes or minimal taxes because of the their
influence, does not mean this supply side economic nightmare should continue or survive a new tax plan.
As to what I dislike about the Fair Tax Plan I answer this way. It is not fair and is very, very dangerous. It eliminates Payroll tax,
which means that social security and medicare is over. Now the plan that businesses report income and the amount for social security will be set aside
from the consumption tax, is a joke. First hiccup in the economy, and consumption slows, social security will end, or the EPA and OSHA will end or other
necessary programs, such as military spending will be affected. I can not help but wonder, if in 2008, when our economy tanked, if we were on such a plan,
what would have happened? Tens of Millions lost their jobs, consumption shrank, and we crashed. Republican leadership voted against jobs bills which would
have immediately kick-started the economy. On a flat tax, there would be no money for this in case of an emergency or unemployment extensions, and our
deficit would explode. It also ends medicare. The Rich currently have to pay taxes on interest, capital gains, and dividends. This necessary income to the
Government would end. I object to the Rich and Powerful, who make huge amounts of money from interest, dividends, and capital gains would pay ZERO taxes
on that income, that currently they pay. There is no consumption tax on purchasing stocks, bonds, options, commodities, rental, and commercial real estate.
The rich and powerful would be completely excluded from having to pay any taxes on their investment vehicles of choice. The only cost they would have
would be the few dollars, ($5.00 at E-Trade), and, for this, they get a $10,000 credit. Now lets look at what everyone will be taxed on.
Purchase of personal residence, (imagine 23% being added to the cost of a home). If they don't buy they, get to pay 23% tax on rent. There will be 23% tax
on groceries, medicine, cars, gasoline, insurance (including health insurance), bus, taxi, trains, mass transit, plane tickets. Also electric, cable,
water, gas, heating oil, propane, and all the necessities of life will be taxed at 23%. Imagine, each and every single thing that is bought day to day by
the bottom 98% being taxed at 23%. We can barely make ends meet now, and now we are expected to pay 23% on top of everything. Who do you think this
negatively effects more? Rich or Middle Class? This will also destroy the restaurant and entertainment industry. A meal at Chick Filet costs around $20.00
now. After this, it will cost $24.60. Oh, and lets not forget the extra taxes added to almost everything from Florida, and the extra penny here and penny
there tax each county has. This 23% tax combined with Florida's 7% sale tax brings the actual tax to 30%, without including any of the other taxes. I also
object to this plan because there are no caps in spending, so Congress can just keep spending, our rates just increase, and the rich only pay on what they
buy. This is as regressive a tax as can be.
[[Editor's Note: An EpiPen®, described below, is an auto-injector of epinephrine, used by people with certain medical condition, and, for the
emergency treatment of anaphylaxis, a severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reaction, and, severe allergies , etc. – And, the 'CBO,' also
mentioned below, is the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan Federal agency within the Legislative branch of the United States government that
provides budget and economic information to Congress.]]
The CBO has not scored this because the Republicans have not requested it be scored. Why don't you ask Bilirakis, who supports this to request his
leadership have the CBO score it. Let's look at the business side. I will use the EpiPen as an example. It costs the company $1.00 to make. They gouge us
with a price tag of $300.00. Currently they are supposed to pay tax on the profit, which considering nothing else would be taxable income of $299.00.
Even at a 10% tax rate, that is $22.90 in taxes for the pen. Compare this with the consumption tax. [E.g., the Fair Tax] Under the consumption tax, the
corporation would have to pay 23% on the $1.00 of consumables purchased to make the pen. (This assumes the consumables cost that much.) That is $0.23 per
pen. Their profits are now $299.77, and that is after taxes. They still will not create new jobs or new industry. Let's look at the consumer side. Lets
see, a house with two school age children. One pen for each, (300 x 2) $600.00 plus one pen for each to have at school, (300 x 2) another $600 for a grand
total of $1,200.00. Now, let's add on the consumption tax. $1,200.00 (Four pens) plus $276.00 (23% tax equals $1476.00 total. That extra $276.00 in tax,
keeps that family from saving, paying a bill, eating out, consuming. This family with two kids gets to pay an extra $276.00 for the pens so their kids
won't die from an allergic reaction, but meanwhile the rich pay nothing on their earnings, and the corporation that made the pens paid $0.23 cents. Who
does this tax plan benefit? Does it benefit the rich family, where an extra $276.00 in taxes for medicine will not effect their life style, or the middle
class, where this tax of $276 is the equivalent of 27.6 hours of work at $10.00?
It is just one more scam in a long line of scams, compliments of our congressman and the rest of the Party elites, who just do what they are told by their
special interests rather than actually looking at the consequences. I am all for a simpler IRS code, and favor making it so small it can be billed by post
card. But this is not the way to do it. This will destroy our economy, will destroy social security, medicare, the VA, and many of our necessary
programs.
I hope this answered you, and if not, please feel free to ask any more questions. There are many other problems with this bill, but this is just a
snapshot. I am curious to see what your thoughts are. Oh, I am also not a tax expert, but it is obvious what this bill does, who it benefits, who it
harms, and some of the many consequences.
Robert M. Tager, Esquire
Tager Law Firm, P.A.
26133 U.S. Highway 19 N
Suite 202
Clearwater, FL 33763
(727) 723-1616
Editor's Note: Since Mr. Tager was kind enough to give The Register such a detailed answer, I owe him my analyses,
thoughts, and feedback/suggestions as to what (if anything) should be done.
* 1) First off, he made a superb effort, and this is impressive in light of the fact that he is busy working as an attorney (to pay bills) and
running a campaign (which deals with more than just one press inquiry).
* 2) Secondly, while he is an avowed liberal in many areas, Atty. Tager is willing to listen to other views, and work with us Conservatives, such
as his willingness to admit that the Tax Code needs to be greatly simplified. He admitted that he is not entirely against H.R.25, the 'Fair Tax' bill,
and admitted he "can see the benefits of a flat tax," a similar, if distinct topic, but another preference of many Conservatives. [The "Fair Tax" is a
tax on consumption aka spending, whereas a "Flat Tax" is a flat-rate Federal Income tax, with the aim to make the I.R.S. much less complicated.]
* 3) Now, let's look at the merits of what he says:
a) He claims that it is false to assume that tax-breaks on Big Business & the rich are good things. While I am not a big fan of increasing taxes,
he does make a good point. Even tho I am an avowed 'Conservative,' I do know for a fact that there is a widening wealth-gap, that is, the
rich really are getting richer, and the poor really are getting poorer. So, is correct that a small increase in
tax would not necessarily be deadly for the economy. However, my main beef (complaint) is not with the taxation, but rather with both
spending excesses, as well as the protection the rich have. (They can repeatedly file for bankruptcy, get corporate welfare, aka bailouts,
and then file for bankruptcy again, whereas the poor college student can not obtain bankruptcy discharge for an already-inflated principle cost of Tuition,
not even counting interest & any late fees, except via "Undue Hardship," a nearly impossible standard.) I contend that if we reduce spending; reduce 'loan
limits' for taxpayer-dollar-backed College Loans; and, finally, allow college borrowers to wield the 'Economic 2nd Amendment,' the sword of bankruptcy, a
Conservative Free Market *check* against Predatory Lending, then -without a shadow of doubt- college tuition will drop to values that the
Conservative Free Market can sustain.
b) He says: "Tax avoidance or forgiveness is not a reward for success; it is the product of being rich and buying politicians." CORRECT, and the poor
and unconnected College Student can not "buy" Loan Forgiveness, or even Bankruptcy rights that any drug-using Credit Card holder can enjoy! This is
messed up.
c) He then voices this concern: "First hiccup in the economy, and consumption slows, social security will end, or the EPA and OSHA will end or other
necessary programs, such as military spending will be affected." ** This seems to be a valid point, but I would ask, is it not possible that a "hiccup"
in the economy would not likewise affect income? (Consumption, e.g., spending, and income are tied together, since one must earn income in order to
spend it.) Since both spending and earnings may "fluctuate" in different ways, it makes sense to me to have a combination of these 2 forms of taxes;
therefore, maybe a combination 'Fair Tax' and 'Flat Tax' would be simpler and require less Bureaucratic Red Tape?
d) Mr. Tager complains of 'added' taxation: "A meal at Chick Filet costs around $20.00 now. After this, it will cost $24.60," he says. Actually, I believe
that H.R.25 has a sunset clause, in which it will "sunset" (cease to be law) if the 16th Amendment is not repealed to stop Income Tax. So, I respectfully
dissent from Atty. Tager: The Fair Tax would *replace* (not supplement) the income tax. See also point 'c' just above: perhaps both Flat and Fair taxes
could be used, but with each one being cut in half, so as to avoid overtaxing us. (Better yet, reduce spending, and be less greedy, all you rich,
Establishment "fat cats" in both Democratics & Republican parties!!)
e) Next, however, he raises a valid point about an illegal monopoly on the EpiPen, which is not unlike some prescription medications being sold at
huge (obscene) profits, simply because the company holds a monopoly on the product. I have 2 things to say: First off, whether or not a company engages
in an illegal monopoly (like U.S. Colleges are doing, in an unrelated higher-ed matter), what has this to do with the method or means of taxation?
Secondly, last time I checked, U.S. Case Law held that a monopoly was quite illegal, and so this needs to be checked into.
f) Lastly, he is honest enough to admit that he's not a tax expert (and neither am I). I appreciate his honesty, humility, & proper respect. But, it is
possible that the Fair Tax might possibly be rather 'neutral' on changing the tax rates of the super rich and/or Big Business. (Perhaps, we should consult
Tax Experts -on both sides of the issue- to get to the bottom of these concerns: Do the 'Fair Tax' or 'Flat Tax' benefit the rich any any extraordinary
way)
g) Mr. Tager is quite intelligent, and I'm surprised he doesn't have many thoughts on the higher ed mess; however, I admit that it took Alan Collinge
several tries before I could "get" the concept that removal of bankruptcy for college loans resulted in higher tuition. (It does, since lenders prey on
the weak, helpless, & defenseless, and price-gouge college students just trying to better ourselves -just trying to avoid being a McD burger flipper
for the rest of their life.) I am interested to see Mr. Tager's thoughts on my replies above; and, I also hope Mr. Bilirakis replies; as well, I hope my
own Congressman, Rep. Dennis A. Ross (R-FL-15th), acts on his stated beliefs, as described in the other, related, news story in the links below:
TABLE of CONTENTS:
* “Video #1”: A compilation of nine (9) shorter videos documenting the illegal call-blocking.
* “Video #2”: Documentation of illegal perjury by several members of the Lakeland (Fla.) Police Dept.
* “Video #3”: Much subsequent news coverage of this sordid “call-blocking” saga.
* “Video #4”: Huge wreck, and I can't call 911! This picks up where episode 9 of “video #1,” above leaves off, and includes STEREO video/audio footage
of the wreck, documented call-block of 911, and then resultant visits to City Commission, including Lakeland (Fla.) Mayor Bill Mutz, himself, getting
involved and asking to “test out” 911. – I grant his request, and we 'test out' both 911 and non-emergency dispatch.
* THE Intimidation / DELAY * Readers might wonder why there was a delay in reporting this when it happened. The short answer is that when it initially
happened, LPD sent a message that they would (falsely) accuse me of making "harassing phone calls," as some sort of justification for the illegal
call-blocking. In that corrupt era, one was "guilty until proven innocent," and so, to prove 'false' this claim, I asked for a copy of the last call to
LPD, immediately before I got blocked, in which I asked to speak to the chief, to report documented perjury in a report. The dispatcher insisted that I
call I.A. (Internal Affairs), but I had already tried to report a public defender being illegally denied an exculpatory call-record, and they were very
threatening, and I told the dispatcher that I did *not* feel comfortable calling them. But she insisted, and so, I called and left a message. Then, a few
days later, when I tried to report a bus parked dangerously close to the roadside, my call was blocked (as documented by the phone company, numerous
witnesses--see video--and even admitted to by LPD Detective Elisa Martin, in the presence of a witness, PSO Ryan Christopher Schuck). And, my attempts to
get an audio copy (under Public Records laws) of my call, showing I was only following orders of the dispatcher to call I.A. (and not making "harassing
calls") was illegally denied, and this went on for years of haggling back and forth to get those records, without which I would have no credibility were I
to speak at, say, the city counsel to report these abuses. (Now, however, with LPD's documented LPD's documented refusal to comply with Public
Records Law, in addition to the other fraud, and documented perjury that initiated this matter, I now feel I have sufficient 'credibility' to bring this
matter to city elders, news media, and state & Federal agencies tasked with "policing the police.") The long story is documented below.
**UPDATE: NEW LINKS JUST ADDED-- You may now, also,
click this link to show why
there was "no way" around a delay. LINKS: (Local Cache)
** (GoDaddy Cache)
** (HostGator Cache) **
* Other Corruption * Besides illegally blocking my phone (which we just recently found out was also 911-blocked, a very dangerous Civil Liberties
violation of the 1st amendment rights of redress), and then trying to cover it up and intimidate me into not reporting it, by refusing to release
the call to the dispatcher who asked me to call I.A., there was (as one might expect) other corruption, which we were finally able to document
and bring to readers. Now that LPD has done something so bizarre as to block peoples' 911 calls (as well as 'regular' non-emergency number calls to
dispatch), perhaps these other 'forgotten' crimes will now come to light under the heat of these shocking new allegations:
“Video #2”: Documentation of illegal perjury by several members of the Lakeland (Fla.) Police Dept.
** PERJURY in an official report: This is what started it all: After I was falsely arrested, perhaps to 'meet a quota', officers wrote an
official report claiming that an LPD dispatcher told me to stay out of, or otherwise avoid, a certain area -- that there was police activity there.
However, if you're going to be honest about it, you'll listen to the actual call, and compare it to the report -- and can come to your own conclusion as
to whether these police made a false report, and then swore on oath (see the signature line of the report and who all signed it), thus making their lies
official perjury under oath:
** YouTube
** Facebook #1
** Facebook #2
** Right-click to save:
** Local directory cache (MP4)
** Local directory cache (WMV)
** GoDaddy hosting cache (MP4)
** GoDaddy hosting cache (WMV)
** HostGator hosting cache (MP4)
** HostGatory hosting cache (WMV)
Conclusion: Of course, "harassing phone calls" do NOT justify illegal call-blocking by the Lakeland Police Department (either to their
non-emergency dispatch or their 911-centre). Indeed, even if I was making harassing phone calls (to the non-emergency number) or abusing their 911
call-centre (also illegal), they could press charges for either "harassing phone calls" or "911 abuse" (but they didn't--proving I was never at fault in
this regard). So, their documented illegal blocking was egregious--and dangerous: Indeed, had I not had my cell phone to report that huge wreck in front of
my old Lakeland residence, I would not have been able to call 911 and report it. Moreover, if they only blocked "non-emergency" calls (as
Detective Elisa Martin told me when she and PSO (Public Safety Officer) Schuck came out to meet me in the LPD lobby), that is still not only quite stupid
(preventing citizens from reporting crimes until they become an emergency), but with a good lawyer, I might have a huge Federal Civil Rights case, in
particular, both First Amendment Rights of Redress and also illegal punishment without proper Due Process. Speaking of which,... (Now hiring -- One tough
lawyer. Contact: Gordon Watts.)
Plus, it might be good to review the following case-law: "The Ball Case, 163 U.S. 662 , 41 L. ed. 300, 16 Sup. Ct. Rep. 1192, establishes that to try a
man after a verdict of acquittal is to put him twice in jeopardy, although the verdict was not followed by judgment." KEPNER v. United
States, 195 U.S. 100, at 133 (1904) Question-- does double jeopardy prevent a retrying of my case where, as my docket shows, a
nolle prosequi (or: "NOLLE PROSSED" as they spell it for my 08/20/2003 entry) was done? --E.g., the plea deal, which got me off even if no innocent
verdict was entered? Does that holding apply to me?
Fair Use EXCERPT from July 17, 2014 news story from WTSP: “The city of Lakeland has paid a $25,000 settlement
to a woman ordered to shake out her bra during a traffic stop last year. [] A public records request by The Ledger shows a check dated July 7 to
29-year-old Zoe Brugger. [] Authorities say Brugger was pulled over by Lakeland police officer Dustin Fetz in May 2013 for a broken headlight. Silent video
taken from the patrol car shows her being forced to shake out her bra multiple times in a search for drugs. The officer also searched her car over her
objections. No drugs were found. [] Fetz has not been reprimanded for the search itself, but he served a one-day suspension for not having his microphone
on. [] City officials say they're still waiting for an executed release, which will free them from a future lawsuit.” – Source: “Lakeland pays
$25,000 in bra-shaking case: The city of Lakeland has paid a $25,000 settlement to a woman ordered to shake out her bra during a traffic stop last
year.,” by Associated Press and AP staff writers, WTSP, July 17, 2014, LINK:
https://www.WTSP.com/article/news/local/lakeland-pays-25000-in-bra-shaking-case/67-300320420
Point of Order: If this this woman, who had ONE DAY of discomfort got $25,000.oo, how much more am I owed when
police illegally put a “call block” on my phone – not only for “regular” dispatch calls – but also, apparently, 911 calls – FOR DECADES (thus call-blocking
MY ENTIRE FAMILY from calling police!!) – and threatened me with slandering my good name (falsely accusing me of harassing phone calls) if I reported it –
and ILLEGALLY violating Public Records Laws when they continually refused to release my phone call to the station showing I was NOT making harassing phone
calls – but rather “just following orders” when I called the Internal Affairs to report DOCUMENTED PERJURY. (That's also illegal.)
Fair Use EXCERPT from Aug 31, 2019 news story from BuzzFeed: “Debra Stevens, 47, was delivering newspapers for
the Southwest Times Record early in the morning on Saturday, Aug. 24, when her car was swept away in a flash flood...Aric Mitchell, a spokesperson for the
department, told BuzzFeed News the dispatcher who answered is named Donna Reneau.” – Source: “A 911 Operator Is Being Accused Of Being "Rude" And
"Condescending" To A Drowning Victim Before She Died: "You're not gonna die, I don't know why you're freaking out.",” by Stephanie McNeal, BuzzFeed News
Reporter, BuzzFeedNews, August 31, 2019, LINK:
https://www.BuzzFeedNews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/911-call-arkansas-debbie-stevens-drowned
Point of Order: If this this 911 dispatcher nearly got fired (and was taken to task by numerous news outlets),
for merely being "rude," how much **MORE** should the Lakeland (Fla.) POLICE Department be taken to task, and possibly sued? (Answer: The drowning woman
was at least able to call 911 and get help. In **my** case, it is documented—in excruciating detail—that both the non-emergency and 911 numbers were
call-blocked for me--and my entire family--at our home number.)
CONCLUSION: Yes, the mayor and I DID “test out” the 911 (and also, at my request, the non-emergency dispatch aka the “main call-in”
number to the police station). Both had **finally** unblocked me, no doubt because they knew that they were about to be caught red-handed violating the
law, and publicly embarrassed, not to mention, possibly sued for egregious & gross Civil Rights violations. Some have suggested that since my phone is
unblocked, I should just “let it drop.” – Oh, really!?.. – Let me ask YOU a question, OK? What if YOUR family was captured and held hostage for roughly
THIRTEEN (13) YEARS, and not released except under exceptional duress, pressure, and threats of lawsuits & embarrassment, ok? Now, you might forgive them,
so far as not being vindictive, hating them, or seeking revenge. Forgive, as my Christian faith instructs, ok? Forgive, yes, but forget? Let it drop? Would
YOU just “drop it,” if YOUR family was finally released? Hell no! And neither should I. – How many **other** victims will they bully? I think it should be
looked into, addressed, and that we should never forget—never again. Craziness like these things (not just illegal call-blocking, but the illegal perjury,
& other abuses) unnecessarily places lives in danger. Word.
P.S: Here are some key words for Search Engines to see:
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