Delaware the First State

Delaware is in the unique position being the First State to ratify the Constitution. I believe that Delawareans are a special breed. I also believe that too many Delawareans have been lulled into a sense of false security by politicians who have been in office far too long. Our state has not held up to its greatness as defined by Richard Basset, Gunning Bedford Jr., Jacob Broom, John Dickinson, and George Read. It’s time our state got back to its First State roots.

Article I.           Delaware should be the First State in Energy Independence

Delaware’s nickname is “The First State” but we are not taking that role to heart. Delaware has been content to sit back and become the forgotten First State.

Section 1.01 Delaware should be first in Nuclear Power production

While Delaware has not been first in building Nuclear Power plants we can be first in utilizing Nuclear power to make our state energy independent. We can begin permitting and advances construction on a new AP1000 Nuclear Power facility. There are numerous areas along the Delaware River that would be good candidates for a nuclear plant. The addition of a nuclear power plant could potential replace fossil fuel fired plants. Not only would this strengthen our state’s energy grid, it would push us into possible net energy exporters to surrounding states. It would also create thousands of new high tech jobs in industries from construction to engineering.

Section 1.02 Delaware should be first in building new refineries

There has not been a new major refinery built in the United States in over 30 years. Delaware can be the First State to begin construction a new oil refinery in the US. A good site in my opinion for this refinery would be the long derelict US Steel location in Claymont. A new oil refinery would increase production of oil based fuels and contribute to the nation becoming energy independent. It would also help to stimulate Delaware’s economy by providing hundreds of jobs.

Section 1.03 Delaware should be first in offshore wind power production

Recent developments on a new offshore wind generation plant have all but assured that Delaware will finally be first in off shore wind power. We should embrace this technology and expand on it. It will create hundreds of high paying; high tech jobs and adds valuable clean energy to the Delaware power grid. We should encourage local wind power manufacturing business to locate themselves in Delaware by providing tax incentives.

Section 1.04 Delaware should be first in Solar Power

Delaware should harness the latest solar power technology by encouraging that the tallest buildings in our cities be built with, or have the newest solar panel technology installed. The state should give tax incentives and energy credits to those building owners who choose to place solar panels on their roofs.  Solar power provides valuable clean energy to our power grid and creates high tech; high paying jobs. We should also do encourage local solar panel manufacturing businesses to locate themselves in Delaware by providing tax incentives.

Section 1.05 Delaware should be first in new alternative energy sources

Delaware should work with leading energy researchers to pioneer alternative energy sources that can be uniquely harnessed in Delaware such as tidal power which is more predictable than wind and solar power and has the potential to provide much more power per installation. We should also encourage local tidal power generator manufacturers to locate themselves in Delaware by providing tax incentives.

Article II.        Delaware should be first in illegal immigration reform

As a matter of public safety, Delaware should declare to the country and the world that while we support and admire legal immigrants from all countries, that we will no longer tolerate illegal immigrants souring the idea of the American dream and destroying the reputations of their legal counterparts.

Section 2.01 State legislature should ensure that local law enforcement is able to work with federal agencies to locate and deport illegal immigrants.

Delaware legislators must pass laws that protect local law enforcement and allow them the freedom to contact federal agencies when an illegal immigrant is arrested. This protects our citizens from the violent crimes some illegal immigrants who enter gangs. State legislators should allow law enforcement to inquire about an immigrants citizenship status during any questioning including traffic stops, witness accounts and criminal investigations.

Section 2.02 State legislators should require employers to verify the citizenship of their employees.

Delaware legislators must make it a punishable offense for employers to hire illegal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are too often exploited by employers looking for cheap labor. Illegal immigrants are also often hired ahead of legal US citizens because they will work for much less pay.

Section 2.03 State legislators should remove state funding for illegal immigrants with regard to social programs

Delaware legislators must remove government funding for illegal immigrants who attempt to access social programs intended for low income legal citizens. Immigrants who have violated the law in order to gain entry to our country should not be permitted to take advantage of social programs funded by and intended to help our citizens. Our state should require proof of legal citizenship when a person applies for any social program including but not limited to welfare, state funded healthcare, food stamps or unemployment benefits. State officials must also be required to contact federal and local authorities in the event that they witness and illegal immigrant applying for any social program.

Section 2.04 State legislators should require that immigrants learn English in order to obtain citizenship.

It is imperative that we establish a common language to be used in transactions throughout the state. Requiring immigrants to learn English helps state officials, law enforcement and the immigrants by assimilating them into society. It also helps to break down a barrier that currently exists between mainstream citizens and immigrants. While our nation was founded on the concept of allowing immigrants to find freedom within our borders, it was also always the immigrant’s job to communicate in the common language of the country. 

Article III.    Delaware should be first in education.

Section 3.01 State legislators should develop an education voucher system.

Delaware should be the first state to allow parents to choose to send their children to charter, private or home schools without being unfairly taxed for the public school system. The easiest and fairest way to accomplish this is to allow parents to choose to receive a voucher that can be used to pay for education expenses. Currently private schools are only attended by children whose parents can afford to be taxed for public school dollars and still pay for the cost of private school tuition. 

Section 3.02 State legislators should take control of education standards within our state.

Delaware must control its own destiny when it comes to our children. The children and teachers in our public school must be held accountable to education standards that stand above federal standard. Education is the right and responsibility of each state and we must create standards to effectively manage the performance of our students, teachers and administrators and ensure that all of our children are given the best chance to succeed. 

Section 3.03 State legislators should work with local school districts to develop a pay structure for public school teachers that encourage positive results.

Delaware already has one of the highest average salaries for public school teachers but we can do more. We can work with our school districts to develop merit based incentives to drive better results from our educational system. We owe it to our children to provide them with the best possible chance to succeed and we need high quality educators performing at their best in order to do that.

Article IV.     Delaware should be first in budget reform.   

Section 4.01 State legislators should work together to turn our current budget deficit into a surplus.

As the first state Delaware should be a role model to other states in fiscal responsibility. State legislators must work together to ensure that our budget is balanced to pay off our current debt and begin to build a state surplus. Through increased revenues by encouraging new high tech business to locate here, as well new tax revenue from employment with these companies and new residents’, legislators will get a head start on this task. It will also require legislators to reduce spending in non critical areas. 

Article V.         Delaware should be first in law enforcement.

Section 5.01 State legislators should ensure that law enforcement officers are well compensated.

Delaware’s law enforcement officers from the State Police to corrections officers to probation and parole officers have not received a sufficient raise in over 3 years. Our corrections and probation/parole officers have been unfairly prejudiced against and have not received adequate compensation. Legislators must ensure that our law enforcement is given the tools to succeed including compensation.

Section 5.02 State legislators should ensure that law enforcement is protected against frivolous lawsuits/complaints. 

Delaware legislators must enact laws that protect our law enforcement officials from lawsuits/complaints from criminals looking for a loophole. While legitimate accusations and complaints must be dealt with to ensure our law enforcement officers are held to the highest standard, they should be shielded from unfounded baseless accusations that only delay verdicts and serve to tarnish the reputations of otherwise commendable officers.

Section 5.03 State legislators should enact immigration laws.

Delaware legislators must enact immigration laws that allow local law enforcement to adequately police our states immigrant population. They must be allowed to inquire about a person’s immigration status or citizenship at anytime. They also must be allowed to communicate the immigration status and citizenship of any person to federal immigration agencies.

Article VI.     Delaware should be first in political reform.

Section 6.01 State legislators should enact term limits.

There are many state and local legislators who have had their positions for decades. Delaware legislators must act to limit themselves to two consecutive terms in any single office. Our state cannot grow and cannot move forward if the same politics is played.

Section 6.02 State legislators should enact spending reform.

Delaware legislators must enact reform to eliminate pork barrel spending and earmarks. Legislators create fundamental conflicts of interest when they attach earmarks and special interest tabs to bills. Delaware has been undergoing budget shortfall after budget shortfall and yet our current legislative branch has continued to approve budget after budget. We have to get back to fiscal responsibility and spend our tax revenue wisely. 

Article VII. Delaware should be first in the Constitution.

Section 7.01 State legislators should enact laws that protect the Constitution of the United States of America.

Delaware was the first state to ratify the constitution in 1788. Delaware must stand up and ratify our Constitution again. I urge our lawmakers to obtain a copy of the Constitution and add their signatures to the document, then post it outside of the door to Legislative Hall in Dover to symbolize their agreement with the constitution. 

Section 7.02 State legislators should embrace the ideals and values of our founding fathers.

Delaware legislators must show their support for the ideals and values of the men and women who risked everything to build a great nation, arguably the greatest on Earth. Among those founding fathers were Delawareans who fought, toiled and ultimately died building a nation founded on “We the People”. As citizens of the great state of Delaware it is our duty to continue those traditions and to create a state that our founders would be proud of.

Section 7.03 State legislators should ensure that all American citizens are allowed to live the American dream.

Delaware legislators have a duty to their constituents to provide them with all the freedoms and rights given to them by our founders.   The Constitutional rights granted in our nation’s founding document must be upheld by our laws today. Delaware legislators must reaffirm their commitment to uphold these rights and ensure that all Delawareans are allowed to succeed if they work hard and harness the talents that they possess.

If you are within the 26th State House District or the 11th Senate District in Delaware, please take the time to visit the following website and indicate your support for my campaign to unseat decades long political representatives in the state government.

http://gopetition.com/online/20899.html

The Supreme Court has out done itself over the past month.  Landmark cases have been heard and the lands highest court has taken a major swipe at America.  A group of nine has decided on more than one occasion that America is not capable of governing itself.  Rulings on GITMO prisoners "rights" and Louisiana's right to execute child rapists have once again trampled on the true meaning of the constitution.  In fact, in the only case the Supreme Court got right, it was only by the slimmest of margins and with the greatest reluctance that “The 9” upheld the constitutional rights of Americans to own firearms. We’ve long since passed the age of judicial activism and have progressed into the era of Judicial rule. With a few pen strokes the fate of our entire country can rest in the hands on 9 judges. Justices Alito and Roberts are most often on the right side of the issues, and all too often left hanging out to dry by the other 7 rulers on the high court. What’s worse is that their decisions aren’t even masked in good intentions like those of the liberal politicians who seem just not able to get it “quite right”. They are so bold as to not even hide their intentions with acts of kindness. They’ve handed the same rights afforded to American citizens over to enemy combatants, terrorists whose only desire is to watch our buildings crumble and our population expire. They’ve allowed them the access to citizen rights never afforded to terrorists before. They’ve weakened our country with their decree and opened a loophole through which hundreds of murderers can now scramble through and away to the safety of their hate filled homelands. In the Louisiana case “The 9” completely ignored the states’ rights and superseded them based on public opinion. I thought that the role of the Supreme Court was to interpret the constitution the way it was written and decide if a law violated it, not strike down legitimate state laws based on the pollster’s data. Besides the glaring deviation from the entire purpose of the high court, since when was it in the description for them to rule based on public opinion? And whose opinion where they getting? I don’t know very many people, even in my liberal state of Delaware, that would oppose the death penalty for adults who rape children. In fact, I’ve done my own little informal polling in my hometown and while traveling on business throughout the Northeast and 45 out of the 50 people I asked about their opinion supported executing child rapists. If my very small and very limited poll is any indication, it looks like the high court should have said “Screw public opinion, we just don’t want you to execute anyone regardless of the rights given your state by the constitution. And what we say goes!” The bottom line is that GWB may have had his faults, but he got us Roberts and Alito and that has been enough to save at least our guns. Let’s hope that McCain can help us save the rest of our rights before “The 9” take them all away.

The World Nuclear association has determined that, in over “12,700 cumulative reactor years in 32 countries” there have only been 2 major incidents. One of those incidents was contained with no harm to anyone, and one was one of the largest manmade disasters ever.    They found that “detailed analyses and large-scale testing, followed by the 1979 meltdown of the Three Mile Island reactor, began to make clear that even the worst possible accident in a conventional western nuclear power plant or its fuel could not cause dramatic public harm.”  They also have determined that “it is now clear that no-one need fear a potential public health catastrophe.” The IAEA issued a press release in 2007 stating that France receives 78 percent of its power from nuclear reactors and Belgium receives 54 percent. In fact, there were 435 Nuclear Reactors around the world at the time of the IAEA press release. Much of the nuclear waste is recycled in modern plants which cuts back further on the so called dangers of nuclear waste. Given the fact that the technology continues to evolve and the facts about the safety of nuclear power I can’t see where anyone could argue against its use.

In recent months as the price of oil on the world market has risen there has been an increasing debate on how to reduce these costs. Everything from conservation to drilling to alternative energy to criminalizing speculation has been proposed. Most Republicans agree that we should do everything that we can to become energy independent while most liberals want to turn away from oil all together in favor of wind and solar power. We have to have a comprehensive plan that includes utilizing the natural resources of our country (coal, oil, shale, and natural gas), nuclear power, solar, wind, geothermal and other new energy technology. Focusing on oil speculators and gas tax holidays are weak gestures from soft politicians. The fact is that by just announcing intentions to make our country energy independent we will drive down the cost of oil. Speculators focus on future prices and by removing most or all of our demand from the world market, we can drive down the price at the pump immediately. It’s time to stand up and shout that we want to control our own destiny, not place it in the hands of the worlds dictators. 

It's time that we as Americans stood up for ourselves and for those who came before us.  It's time that we as Americans remember our founders for who they were and not what our history books tell us they were.  It's time that we as Americans started teaching our children about the reality of the founding of our nation. History books will tell our children about Paul Revere's ride through  the Massachusetts countryside. They will tell our children about him yelling “THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING!” They will tell our children that people dressed like Indians and threw English Tea overboard in Boston Harbor, that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4^th (it was actually signed on July 2^nd), and that George Washington was our first president. These are wonderful things for our children to know, even if some of them are partly incorrect. It’s the stories that the history curriculums “just don’t have time to tell” that we as Americans need to be telling our children. It’s the story of HOW and WHY the British came to Boston Harbor, and on to Concord and Lexington that REALLY shows the brilliance, courage and sacrifice of Paul Revere, Dr. Warren, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, etc. 

The colonial uprising had already begun. The Massachusetts Provincial Congress had been established and at the head of it was John Hancock who resided in Concord, Ma. At 9PM on the night of April 18^th 1775 Dr. Joseph Warren was, as many colonials were, lying in bed drifting off to sleep. Dr. Warren was a well known, well liked man who was active in colonial politics. In fact, his drafting of the Suffolk Resolves caused the King of England to put a price on his head. He knew that at any moment the Redcoats may knock at his door. It was late, and well passed the time when the British had cleared the streets.  As he lay drifting to sleep, there came a knock at his door.   He knew this could be it. The British Redcoats had come to take him; he would never put it past the British to come at night, when all were asleep. Instead of redcoats, there stood a young man that Dr. Warren new well. Dr. Warren quickly ushered the young man inside his home. “What are you doing here? It’s well past curfew and you know if the British catch you..” he said softly.   The young man stopped him before he could finish, speaking in hurried but hushed tones, “Dr. Warren, the scene unfolding at the harbor warrants any such dangers. The Redcoats are massing, they’re dressed in full battle dress with muskets and assembling.” Warren considered this. It was not unexpected, in fact, he and others had planned for such an occurrence. He knew that the British had learned of the cache of weapons and ammunition the colonials had stored in Lexington and Concord. Warren knew that the British would march on those towns and that the revolution would be stopped before it could begin. He knew he had to act now.  He said to the young man, “I want you to go and get two men for me, Paul Revere and William Dawes, do you know them?” The young man replied that he did and he hurried off. 15 minutes later Dawes and Revere knocked softly at Dr. Warren’s door. Dr. Warren hurried them inside and explained his plan. Revere was to go into town and cross the Charlestown River. On the other side he would meet up with John Larkin who had a horse named Beauty. She was touted as the fastest horse in Boston. Dawes was to ride south out of Boston, taking the longer land route to Lexington and Concord. It was safer and fewer Redcoats patrolled south out of town and fewer still through the farmlands south and west of Boston. In the event that Revere and Dawes were captured, Dr. Warren had arranged for lanterns to be hung in the Old North Church, viewable from across the Charles River. One lantern would be lit if the British marched by land, and two if they were to cross the river by boat.  Both men departed with strict instructions to carry their messages directly to Lexington and Concord. They were not to go home, not to tell anyone what they were doing. Paul Revere gathered two men to help him cross the river. As they ducked in and out of bushes, avoiding the many British patrols, they noticed on this warm night that the moon was full. Another light was shining that night; in fact, many of them were shining from the deck of a huge Man-O-War docked on the river. Revere and his companions saw that they had no choice but to cross the river here, and that they would cross directly beneath the bow of the huge British ship. “We’ll never make it!” hushed one of the young men. “We MUST make it.” uttered Revere. As they climbed into the boat they made a pact that if they were seen, they would tip the boat over and swim as fast as they could for the opposite shore. They knew they would be caught or worse killed by the British. Before they set out, they became aware that the ore locks were so loud that the British would surely detect them. One of Revere’s companions ran off, he grabbed three pebbles and went to a nearby home. It was the home of a girl he knew and he tossed those pebbles one at a time at her window. “Who is it?” the girl whispered after opening her window. “It’s Tom, our ore locks are noisy and we need something to quiet them.” The girl turned and when she came back she tossed down pairs of her underwear. Tom stuffed them into the ore locks and quieted them. The three companions began to row their boat out into the river. As they got closer, less than 100 yards away, the full moon shining down on them, their doubts only increased. Paul Revere whispered, “Keep your heads down, do not let them see your white faces, only the hair on your head.”   They were 50 yards from the huge warship when they noticed something. It appeared they were being assisted by someone else. A single cloud had appeared in the otherwise empty sky. As the men rowed closer to the warship, the cloud also began to pass in front of the full moon. The men were able to quietly slip unnoticed beneath the hull of the huge ship and pass safely to the opposite shore. Here, Paul Revere met with John Larkin and learned that the lanterns within Old North church had been lit. There was to be a river crossing of Redcoats. Quietly, Revere was led out to the stable where Beauty was kept. He mounted her and set off for Lexington and Concord. He did not make it far out of eyeshot and still within earshot of Larkin and Revere’s companions when the listeners heard the British guards shouting, “Stop,  ye rider or we will shoot you.” Revere rode harder, his head down as Larkin and the others heard the muskets fire. Then they heard the first of Revere’s cries, “THE BRITISH ARE COMING, THE BRITISH ARE COMING.” Paul Revere road hard through the Massachusetts night and he stopped at every town crying out to the local patriots with those same four words. He rode all night, stopping only to alert the townspeople along his route, of the advancing Redcoats.  He arrived in Lexington around midnight and met up with his counterpart Dawes. He also found John Hancock, Samuel Adams and Jonas Clark. He delivered his message to the three leaders of the Massachusetts Provincial Congress and resumed his ride, this time accompanied by Dawes and a third rider, Dr. Samuel Prescott. Before the trio could ride the five miles between Lexington and Concord, they encountered a roadblock manned by British soldiers. Responding to the urgency of the moment, they proceeded to break through. Prescott used his intimate knowledge of the countryside to his advantage and successfully eluded capture - he was the only one of the three to complete the journey and deliver the alarm to Concord.  Dawes initially appeared to have escaped his pursuers, but was thrown from his horse and captured. Revere was taken prisoner and during his interrogation deliberately provided greatly inflated numbers of militiamen awaiting the British at Concord. During the ride back to Lexington, Revere and his captors heard shots fire and church bells ring throughout the area — events that gave some credence to Revere’s report of colonial preparations. Fearing for their safety, the Redcoats released Revere, but Revere’s horse had been used to replace the tired mare of a British officer. Revere was given the officer’s older horse.

Revere later joined Hancock and Adams as they retreated into the countryside, but made a frantic return to a Lexington tavern where Hancock had inadvertently left some valuable papers. As dawn broke, Revere departed from the town with the valuable documents in hand and rode past militiamen in the process of assembling. A short time later he could hear shots and see smoke in the distance, the opening rounds in the struggle for independence.