HAction – Sentinel2Sentinel

When friends ask where to go for info

This is not a comprehensive list of sites or people that I follow for news and political information. It is in relative order of importance to me when I want to double check what I am hearing or reading from other sources. The list is compiled and posted here thanks to my friend JL’s inquiry to become self-educated. I thank her for trusting my opinion enough to ask where to go for information that is easy to read and understand.

My suggestion is to visit one site at a time searching for information that is of interest to you. When you feel brain-fried simply step back, take a break. Discuss what you read with someone else you trust if you feel unsure or confused about what you are reading. You might find that you understand more than you think you do.

Where I research first and info I trust:

Heritage Foundation at heritage.org
Heritage Action at heritageaction.org
American Enterprise Institute at aei.org
The Federalist Society at fed-soc.org
Discover The Networks at discoverthenetworks.org
Dean Clancy at deanclancy.com
CATO at cato.org

Where I go for daily news and commentary:

I usually get all of my immediate or important news off my Twitter Feed as I follow all the afore mentioned sites along with the ones below. There favorite research/writers from each site that I follow because their personal styles work for my reading comprehension level.

The Daily Signal at dailysignal.com
The Blaze at theblaze.com
Glenn Beck at glennbeck.com
Conservative Review at conservativereview.com
The Federalist at thefederalist.com
The Resurgent at theresurgent.com
National Interest at nationalinterest.org
Front Page Magazine at frontpagemag.com
Daniel Greenfield at sultanknish.blogspot.com (corrected 5/21/26)
Mark Levin at marklevinshow.com
Rush Limbaugh at rushlimbaugh.com
Buck Sexton at bucksexton.com
National Review at nationalreview.com
Washington Times at washingtontimes.com
Capitalist Pig at capitalistpig.com

An important site for you to check out is Hillsdale College. Hillsdale offers Online Courses, many for FREE, on the Constitution and our Founding Fathers at hillsdale.edu.

If you follow me on Twitter you can see my favorite follows and view my Lists or just tweet me at @JSWardell and I will send names directly. Perhaps I will put a #FriendlyFollow list together in another blog post in a couple of days?

Until then, have fun discovering what is important to you and putting your own foundational information together to share with others! Have fun developing your confidence because you are smarter than you think you are. Speak up. Speak out. Defend Freedom! Preserve your Constitutional Rights!

Another Layer of Freakspeak: Task Forces

One of my favorites to follow on Twitter is Dean Clancy. When I saw his post and clicked the Paul Ryan link I thought my head would pop off as I shouted, “What is this task force nonsense?”

Seriously Speaker Ryan? Task Forces? Are you the Big Giant head sending a message of delay, destroy, and deter the Conservative agenda?

Dude, You are so Boehnered. Seriously, after that pathetic opening at the Conservative Policy Summit 2016 where you preached capitulation so we can all sit down together and move forward with the Progressive agenda, do you think anyone is fooled by your Dilbert-Boss approach to making it happen?

Task Forces? Seriously? Another layer on the dung heap?

1) CUT, CAP, AND BALANCE THE BUDGET. Basta!

How do you do that?

CLEAN THE BARN DUDE! Haul out the dung heap of a mess that you, Speaker Ryan, and Boehner created in 2015 with the Bipartisan Budget Act. Go back to the 2011 Budget Control Act, at least, and put your House in order from that point of reference.

2) STOP RAMMING LEGISLATION THROUGH CONGRESS IN A DUNG HEAP.

How do you do that?

STOP BEING A PELOSIVICH-BOEHNERITE. Stop making everything a crisis like a Progressive. Stop. Just take one issue, one reform, at a time. Clean your stall first and then one stall at a time thereafter. Clean it. Clean it well. You can start with Defunding Obamacare so it makes it easier to get rid of it in 2017.

Take back the #PowerOfThePurse line item at a time. You don’t need no stinkin’ task force to tell you that.

3) OPEN DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS OF IDEAS ON THE FLOOR.

How do you do that?

STOP WASTING TIME AND MONEY ON TASK FORCES. It used to be the GOP had a platform. They hammered it out during election cycles and WE, The People, voted on who we send to make the changes in Washington DC.

WE, not YOU, want things hammered out with Public Oversight and that is why we keep electing more Conservatives to Congress so you listen to WE, the People not task forces.

Finally – It is all about #ReclaimAmerica and Article 1. It would appear you skipped that #A1P event the other day so I am posting it here for your convenience. You can watch and learn on your own time to save people from wallowing through another stinkin’ task force meeting.

There you go Mr. Speaker. Task Force fait accompli.

Mother HOA, May I?

Chelsea Park HOA vs First Amendment

Having lived in my “deed restricted” community since 2006 and having placed political signs in my yard each election cycle, and having seen political signs in my neighborhood all these years, guess what came in my mailbox this week?

Anti Political Signs HOA

So here is the June 1995 Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions of Chelsea Park, retrieved from the World Wide Web sign decree in this screenshot:

Screen Shot 2016-01-20 at 11.09.26 PM

Who would ever think that section was meant to stifle free speech during an election cycle? Who would think that would be used to deny Chelsea Park Residents their First Amendment Right to place a sign to support of a Candidate during a Primary Election Cycle or to override the United States Constitution?

Seriously. When did the HOA decide to enforce this rule and apply it to Political Signs during a Primary Election Cycle? Especially THIS political cycle?

How is it the HOA allows that one can put up all sorts of holiday decorations and holiday signs throughout the year but not a Candidate sign during an election cycle? And how is it one can put up a Football or Baseball Team Flag but not a sign for a Candidate during an election cycle?

Did someone say Mother HOA, May I?

Perhaps I need to get a flag for my Candidate made and fly it from a flag pole like the Sport flags or banners I see in some yards. Or maybe getting a partial wrap on my truck so I can park it on the street or my driveway for my Candidate is in order?

Mother HOA, May I?

Oh wait. I hate that game. So allow me to #FrameTheDebate by asking some other questions:

Why would any HOA Board of Directors stifle any resident from exercising the right and moral obligation to uphold civic standards by being Politically Active during any election cycle?
Why has the HOA Board of Directors chosen this particular year to attack political yard signs during the most critical Republican Primary in Florida?
Why, when my candidate’s sign has been up for over one month’s time, is this now an issue when Absentee/Early voting ballots are being sent out on January 30th?
Did a neighbor complain?
Does the current HOA Rule Enforcer have a Political Sign issue? (We all have our issues.)
Was it the original intent of the Covenant/Rules writers to kill a homeowners unalienable right to exercise the 1st Amendment during any campaign season?
How does the HOA pick and choose which signs are yard worthy for display outside of the for sale-for rent restriction?

Honestly, it has never occurred to me that placing my candidate(s) sign on my personal property during an election cycle was a violation of the sacred HOA covenants. After all, seasonal items are placed in someone’s yard all year round because like I said, we all have our issues that mean something to us in their season.

Power to Do vs Clever Phrases

Gary C. Lawrence gave sage advice to young voters in 1972 and it is advice applicable to making wise election decisions today. As the next Republican debate approaches and due to the vast number of candidates vying for attention in what is too often a soundbite forum, there are three things that I keep focusing on when it comes to each candidate’s ability to communicate with voters.

One particular thing Lawrence suggests is:

Watch out for nutshell history, that glib phrase that pretends to adequately encompass a complex topic. …. Scrutinize every slogan. The more clever the phrase, the greater our responsibility to verify its accuracy.

Another important point Lawrence brings up is the deception through drama or the use of sophistry to deemphasize truly important issues:

Some issues lend themselves to dramatization more readily than others. Crime issues, for example, are much easier to emphasize than a complicated economic situation. But the economic issue may be more important in a certain district than the crime issue. Check to be sure the candidates are addressing the issues on the basis of actual importance and not on the basis of ease of emphasis. Especially watch for fear appeals here.

And the last point in Lawrence’s piece I would like to focus on is critically thinking through promises candidates make:

Distinguish between promises of effort and guarantees of end results. A legislator can promise to introduce legislation and work for its passage, but he isn’t in a position to guarantee it becoming law if the executive says he’ll veto it. Similarly, an executive-type officeholder can promise to ask for authority to institute certain programs, but he can’t promise they’ll become fact if his legislature resists. Weigh and analyze promises of effort, but shy away from guarantees.

That brings to me these two, excellent sources for Presidential Candidate Comparisons:

Conservative Review’s PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES COMPARISON
Heritage Actions’s PRESIDENTIAL PLATFORM REVIEW

And finally, the same five questions that seem to be the right questions for all candidates to answer in order to be considered as a properly vetted candidate:

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote healthcare solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?

Correction on December 31: A punctuation and a word omission.

When will Bill Posey Frame the Debate to Reclaim America?

The phrase “the system is broken” when it comes to Congress makes me irate. The problem is too many Politicians are Corrupt and Abusing Power for Personal Gain. It appears they, miscreant politicians, are the ones employing sophistry in by trying break honorable men and women who are working to reclaim America.

I keep looking to my representatives, especially Bill Posey (R), to stand out as a leaders in framing the debate regarding the Washington Cartel holding the system hostage with the phraseology “broken budget process.” After all, Republicans are in charge, not the Democrats. And my representative, Bill Posey, should expose any Republican working to pass bills favoring the Progressive agenda. Bill Posey should name the names of those behind close doors, negotiating with Democrats, far from public oversight and transparent, open debate.

The huge Omnibus bill was not critical. An Omnibus bill is never essential or necessary to getting things done on the hill. The Omnibus Bill is and continues to be perpetuated by those who are THE BROKEN SYSTEM and by those who do not frame the debate to stop it.

The Shutdown, to stop totalitarianism, is never a bad thing. It should have been used to protect taxpayers from 1.1 Trillion in spending that burdens taxpayers. The Shutdown should be used EVERY time to press forward with a Conservative Agenda. Bill Posey needs to learn how to frame that debate if he is serious about his Libertarian-leaning Republican claims as a financially conservative guy.

Shutting down the government to push for smaller, more responsible spending in government is not a bad thing. Therefore Posey must lead from the front, not behind, in teaching his constituents that fact.

Shutting down the government is the responsibility of Congress, of which Bill Posey is member. The onus is on Congress to effectively use the Power of the Purse to stop any Totalitarian from living out of taxpayer pockets while bankrupting America. Congress can and must have the will to shut down the government, just as it must have the will to force Obama to veto bill after bill to reclaim America thus allowing Obama to solidify his Anti-American agenda with the swish of his pen.

Please understand that I, with many others in Florida, really want to support Bill Posey in any well-stated conservative position that he adequately frames for debate. But he must articulate what he will do, as a l-e-a-d-e-r, to reclaim America from Progressive Totalitarians.

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote healthcare solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?

Reclaim America: Rise Up, then Go and Do.

On Friday, November 6th, I attended the Heritage Foundation RECLAIM AMERICA event in West Palm. To meet Jim DeMint and Mike Needham, to listen to them teach and discuss that which matters most to me regarding our nation was absolutely inspiring. And then to meet so many delightful people who love America as much as I do was encouraging for they believe, like I believe, in Opportunity for All and Favoritism to None.

As I listened and learned from many women and men concerned with the progressive track Congress is taking, two questions are firmly planted in my mind:

How can I help vet candidates, especially in this current political season, to know what kind of representation he/she will consistently give constituents once he/she lives in Washington D.C.?
What will I do to invite and inspire others to actively take part in holding our representatives accountable?

Jim DeMint with

Well, thinking through the second question first, I have my blog and I am a firm believer in All Politics Is Local so am working to modify my blog to a neighborhood newsletter in the hopes I can have some influence within my immediate sphere. But I need to be better about inviting people to join me in supporting Heritage Foundation and to become a Heritage Action Sentinel or at least donate to Heritage Action. Therefore I can and will do better to invite others to help change the current culture of corruption in Washington, D.C. (Consider those links your invitation to rise up and go and donate!)

Mike Needham with Bob Trento and Carol Manning

The first question is the one I feel a sense of urgency about, especially here in the Florida Senate Primary. The newcomer, Todd Wilcox, has no real background in politics but he is billing himself as an outsider to challenge a known record of Ron DeSantis. (See DeSantis scorecard listings near the middle of this post.)

Wilcox has posted on his site Todd Wilcox for U.S. Senate a Politico caption that concerns me. Wilcox is great at giving his briefing about himself and he speaks well on this radio interview. Yet knowing Politco’s history toward Conservatives makes me go “Hmmmm…”. The radio interview sorely lacks policy specifics on what he will do let alone why he is better than DeSantis, who is a Veteran too, again, with a known voting record.

So what I have done and will continue to do and invite others to join me in doing is to ASK THE HARD QUESTIONS. If we all ask the SAME FIVE QUESTIONS over and over again until ANY candidate, including Incumbents, answer then we control the agenda to Reclaim America:

What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?
What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?
What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote healthcare solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?
What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?
What are you doing or What will you do as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?

Nikki White and Alexa Legas

Consider this your invitation to Reclaim America. Ask your candidates to Reclaim America and answer those Five Sincere, Tough, and Pointed Questions.

Rise Up.

Go and Do.

Education For All Team Education Session

Congressman Bill Posey: Impromptu Telephone Town Meetings

Dear Bill Posey,

It is nice that I happened to be home when your autodialer chose me to be part of tonight’s Telephone Town Meeting. It would be nice to be on the line before you speak so I could hear what you have to say about whatever you feel like putting out there. Still, thank you for including me as a constituent.

Here are some suggestions and questions:

Will you please, please, please in your Telephone Town Meetings tell us WHAT BILLS YOU ARE STANDING FOR?

Then people, like me, will know how to help you be more effective with your colleagues in moving forward to get things done.

HOW ARE THINGS BETTER FOR THE BILLS YOU SAY YOU and your colleagues ARE PASSING IN CONGRESS?

The volume of bills you and your colleagues pass matter only IF YOU KEEP GOVERNMENT OUT OF THE TAXPAYER POCKETS AND REDUCE THE SIZE OF AN INTRUSIVE GOVERNMENT.

Therefore will you please, PLEASE, please answer these FIVE QUESTIONS?

What are you doing as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?
What are you doing as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?
What are you doing as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote healthcare solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?
What are you doing as a LEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?
What are you doing as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?

If you answer these questions then I, with others, will know how we can help you stop Progressives in Congress from creating and negotiating BAD BILLS that tax and spend without significantly reducing the size and scope of bad government.

Please help me and many other of your constituents Reclaim America by allowing us to help you on issues where we have common interest and goals.

Sincerely.

Ask PAUL RYAN Five Touchstone Questions

Dear House Freedom Caucus, Liberty Caucus, and American Voters:

Please use these FIVE TOUCHSTONE QUESTIONS to vet Republicans, especially those you deem worthy to become the Speaker of the House:

What are you doing as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?
What are you doing as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?
What are you doing as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote health care solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?
What are you doing as a LEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?
What are you doing as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?

Then really vet the person’s voting record from a variety of consistently conservative sources because each scorecard has a variety of issues important to that organization:

Paul Ryan, based upon his demands for full support for himself without a public commitment to promote Consistent Conservatism and protect Consistent Conservative Values, is not for me.

Now, IF Paul Ryan will COMMIT OPENLY to the House Freedom Caucus list of demands, then yes. I could be flipped to CAUTIOUSLY support him. But in the back of my mind I worry if he will pull a Boehner-McConnell deception because of the Ryan Record. In the back of my mind I will always have this question: Will Ryan support and work with Ted Cruz or will he support Progressives against Consistent Conservative Values?

Here is what I expect out of a Speaker of the House for the Majority Party: Leadership.

Four Caucuses: Who are the Consistent Conservatives?

Having read a ton of information about who’s who in the battle to save the Republican Majority’s soul as Speaker of the House, my documentation has failed to keep up with where I read what I think I know.

Right now, I feel exceptionally jaded in my opinions. So today, I am trying to back track and link what I believe is important information to eventually come to some sort of conclusion about who I feel I can support.

So here are links to several articles worth reading and as I go back through them my questions are:

What does a Consistent Conservative mean to me?
Who has a Consistent Conservative voting record?
Who has a Consistent Conservative record on speaking out on issues?
Who is best at Framing The Debate as a Consistent Conservative?

First I need to find out and then make a list of who’s who in each Republican Caucus, because honestly, I am confused as to why there are four of them and who started out in onew then crossed into another caucus.

How similar is each caucus’ ideology?
Where do they differ in opinion and how vast is the chasm?
What principles do they have in common and do those correlate with the U.S. Constitution?
Which caucus has put forward the best person to press forward to declare and defend “the legislative agenda of the majority party.”

Be sure to read Heritage Foundation’s Essay on SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE

(updated Categories and Tags)

Enlightened, Enriched, and Empowered: A Representative Republic

An article headline appears on my Twitter feed yesterday morning. Opening the link, then reading it, I thought my head would absolutely explode. The conversation appears to be ripped from the #DCCartel or #WashingtonCartel narrative that has not, apparently, changed since January 2014.

Here is basically what I had to say to my Representative Bill Posey (R-FL) last year and what I continue to say today regarding THE (alleged) GROUP TOO RADICAL FOR REPUBLICANS.

As a member of Heritage Foundation I am highly disturbed by the attitude Progressive Republicans have towards me, a concrned citizen often in sore disagreement with people like John Boehner and Mitch McConnell. I vehemently disagree with the Progressive Agenda. Having been an activist long before joining Heritage Action (HAction), I am now dedicated to working on Reclaim America as a member of Heritage Foundation and HAction.

It is my right and my civil obligation to join with good men and women in honorable organizations to increase my capacity to make my voice heard. It is also my right and civil obligation to be well informed in order to speak my mind.

John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and too many other Republicans, in my opinion, do not stand on firm ground as true Conservatives. It appears they vote for money or projects that help keep them in office as they talk about how much money is needed to shore up lifestyles to which their constituents feel “entitled” via a redistribution of wealth. (see Will Bill Posey Help with Indian River as an example.) Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 11.22.15 PM

It is fascinating how too many Republicans cry foul against a well proven, Constitutionally focus-driven organization like Heritage Foundation. HAction is effectively keeping grassroots individuals, like me, well informed about what Progressives are actually doing to their constituents but that prevents Progressives from going to Heritage Foundation for policy checks and balances? I do not think so.

Funny how too many Republicans praise their ratings from other organizations that support their Progressive agendas. It is interesting they have no problem going to whomever best suits what unelected bureaucrats or insider lobbyists tell them needs to happen next.

As a longtime member of Heritage Foundation, I often use their research. In fact, I used their research long before joining as a basic member on a variety of issues with which I was concerned. And now, thanks to being a member of HAction and social networking, people like me work together to affect ALL claiming to be Republicans because Republicans, especially the Progressive ones, need public oversight. HAction gives me additional tools to reach out to every member of Congress with my opinion. HAction empowers me to take on the Progressive bullies in Congress.

Having the right to defend and protect my vote that I cast for my congressional delegates, I have the right to be heard regardless of any organization to which I belong or from which I do research. And I have the right to challenge every legislator or staffer’s misplaced loyalties to his/her own self-aggrandizement.

I had to laugh when, if as reported “a former senior Republican leadership staffer” said:

When I arrived on Capitol Hill, The Heritage Foundation was an invaluable partner and a trusted source for conservative policy for my boss. When I left Capitol Hill the relationship was toxic and even hostile, and members were searching for anyone to fill that vacuum. There is no longer any difference between The Heritage Foundation and the Action political shop. They are one.

Really? Who lied or changed to a Progressive Agenda once elected to the Congress? They and the Democrat Party are as One. They and their staffers are the ones who are no longer trusted sources. (Check out Rep. Thomas Masse talking about staff here. ) Screen Shot 2015-10-06 at 11.13.42 PM

Heritage Researchers are still spectacularly nonpartisan. Heritage is for freedom, for transparency, and notoriously thorough in discussing issues. Heritage and Heritage Action usually present both sides no matter how wrong one side is, even if they made a mistake.

In the last fifteen years I have often been referred to other organizations and experts by Heritage Foundation. No one has ever told me what to say or how to feel about any subject or what to do to make them money. That is more than I can say for the alleged straight-talk coming out of alleged bipartisan support that goes on behind closed doors and not adequately debated even in public forums.

Suggesting Heritage Action is a Bully is simply a lie. Standing against tyrannical-progressive agendas is not bullying. Disagreeing with fervor is not bullying. And speaking for myself, lobbying independently as a citizen is not bullying no matter what organization I choose to join in order to keep myself enlightened, enriched, and empowered.

And best of all, being a member of HAction allows me to debate, persuade, and be persuaded by other activists. We talk amongst ourselves. We have no fear of retribution. We have no fear of being cast out for a difference of opinion. We are, again, Enlightened, Enriched, and Empowered because we belong to a free-thinking society.

So to all you whining, egotists in office who feel the voters breath on your neck and our beady eyes boring into your souls, I do not care how you feel. YOU SAID you would get things done therefore please answer these Five Questions and let the discourse begin. Let us have an open dialogue and reclaim America!

1. What are you doing as a LEADER to cut taxes and spending and rein in the debt?

2. What are you doing as a LEADER to limit the size and scope of the federal government and return authority to states and to the American people?

3. What are you doing as a LEADER to get rid of Obamacare and promote health care solutions based on free enterprise, not government controls?

4. What are you doing as aLEADER to protect America from foreign threats, secure the border, and develop a robust, principled foreign policy that puts America first?

5. What are you doing as a LEADER to ensure that our judges and lawmakers uphold the Constitution of the United States, starting by halting executive overreach?