Use VotesPA.com to Prepare for Voting on Nov. 2nd

Pennsylvania voters can use the Department of State's voter education Web site, VotesPA.com, to prepare for the Nov. 2nd  general election. The VotesPA.com Web site offers a broad range of information to improve voters' experiences at the polls.

VotesPA.com provides pertinent voter information, such as video demonstrations of electronic voting systems, a polling place locator and a registration confirmation tool. The site's Election Day assistance tool allows voters to print their own one-page information sheet that lists their polling place, directions and what to bring to the polls.

To confirm your registration on the site, scroll down to "Register to Vote", click on "Confirm Your Registration" and then on " voter registration database. " Voters can also call 1-877-VOTESPA (868-3772) or their county board of elections for current registration information. County contact information is listed on VotesPA.com.

If you do not appear to be registered, contact your county board of elections immediately. 

Meet and Greet the candidates event this Friday

Updated 10/21/10 5:30 PM

All PA Senate and General Assembly candidates will be invited to meet and greet their constituents on Friday evening (10/22/10) between 7PM and 9PM.

Here's a list of those candidates that so far have confirmed they will participate in our Meet and Greet event this Friday (7pm-9pm) at the Chrin Community Center.

Here is the latest on those candidates attending.

Pat Browne (R) – State Senate 16th District

Richard Orloski (D) - State Senate 16th District

Matt Connolloy (R) - State Senate 18th District

Lisa Boscola (D) - State Senate 18th District

Bob Mensch (R) - State Senate 24th District

Justin Simmons (R) – General Assembly 131st District

Dave Moloney (R) – General Assembly 133rd District

Joe Emrick (R) - General Assembly 137th District

Charles Dertinger (D) - General Assembly 137th District

Rex D'Agostino (G) - General Assembly 183rd District

Eleven candidates have not yet returned our calls but their names will be added to this list if they indicate they will be attending.

Candidates are encouraged to bring their campaign literature and to be prepared to answer questions pertaining to those important issues impacting Lehigh Valley residents.

This is an excellent opportunity to prepare yourself to make an informed decision come November 2nd.

Bring your neighbor.

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Candidate Evaluation Report - Nov. 2nd General Election

To see our Candidate Evaluation Report for the Nov. 2nd General Election CLICK HERE. Updated 10/15/10

Also: How well did the individual candidates respond to our inquiries for information and did they sign a pledge of fiscal or constitutional responsibility? We have the answers RIGHT HERE.

The evaluation, developed by the group’s Candidate Action Committee, provides responses from candidates appearing on the November 2 general election ballots in Lehigh and Northampton Counties on their positions on taxes, government spending, and fundamental principles of the U.S. Constitution. Some excerpts from the report:

There were two questionnaires sent out to all candidates, a long comprehensive questionnaire and an abbreviated one more recently sent out to those candidates who did not return the original questionnaire. Those who have still not returned either questionnaire are duly noted on the response sheets.

THESE CANDIDATE EVALUATIONS SHOULD BE REGARDED AS A WORK IN
PROGRESS. Revised reports will be issued as such additional data warrants (and a link to updated reports will appear here on this blog post)

Caveat Lector (Let the Reader Beware)
This analysis is a subjective process bolstered as much as possible by fact or, at least, evidenced-based indicators. The candidates’ answers to the questions are what they are, and ideally truly indicate the political philosophy the candidate brings to the issue in question. The strength of the validity of the answers based on our research varies with each candidate and even among the different issues within each candidate’s responses. We urge you to focus more on the pattern of responses rather than any specific answer, and for those candidates for whom you are seriously considering to represent you, please confirm your judgment with your own research on the merits of each candidate.

November Monthly Meeting... you're invited

We always like to see interested people coming out to our monthly meetings, but we do much more than have monthly meetings. Here's a list of some of the things going on within our organization during the month of October:

Book Discussion--The Federalist Papers
2nd Amendment Team
Ayn Rand Discussion Group--"Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal"
Northampton County Precinct Meeting
Meeting - Energy and Environment (Cap and Trade) Team
Health Care Action Committee Meeting
Meet and Greet Your Lehigh Valley Candidates
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Our General Monthly Meeting for November:


Guest Speaker: 

Ken Matthews
on why the role of the Tea Party remains unchanged after the November election. 

Date and Time

Friday, Nov 5th

7:00PM

Location

Charles Chrin Community Center of Palmer Township

4100 Green Pond Rd Easton, PA 18045 610-252-2098 

How to find us "Enter through building on Rte. 22 side and turn left at first corridor. Our room is about half way down on the left hand side."

Price

$1.00 per person to pay for the room

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Candidates should be prepared to discuss real cuts in budget

An opinion piece in The Morning Call that is one of the BEST pieces on the current economic disaster that we all face.

"Movement of the Moment Looks to Long-Ago Texts"

   That's the title of a story in Friday's New York Times. Of course the "Movement of the Moment" is a reference to the Tea Party movement. But what about those "Long-Ago Texts"? Are the tea partiers delving into the ancient works of Aristotle or Cicero? Or maybe closer to our era with Adam Smith and John Locke?

   No, what this author is talking about are the works of Bastiat, Rand, and Hayek. Friedrich Hayek received the Nobel Prize for economics in 1974 and died in 1992. Ayn Rand published her works up to the year of her death in 1982. I guess Frédéric Bastiat was truly ancient, dying in 1850 the same year he published his most famous work, The Law. That's 63 years younger than the U.S. constitution, but then who reads that anymore?

   This is one of those instances where an author's work tells us more about herself than the subject that she's trying to illuminate. Curiously enough the author, Kate Zernike, shares a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. I wish she would explain what the point is with this concern for "long-ago texts". Truth and good literature used to be timeless, nowadays I guess it comes with an expiration date like a carton of milk.

   It gets even better though... in the course of her article she quotes a Senate candidate from Wisconsin using the term "rule of law". According to Ms Zernike that is:

"Hayek’s term for the unwritten code that prohibits the government from interfering with the pursuit of “personal ends and desires.”"

   "Rule of Law" is a basic foundational concept to western civilization. It does come from those "Long-Ago Texts", Aristotle wrote about it. It is a prime example of good ideas being timeless. But apparently that concept wasn't taught at the journalism school.

A tip of the hat to National Review Online's The Corner
John J. Miller
and
Jonah Goldberg