Last night  was a good night for the Republican Party... and America... the candidates took on the CNBC panel's bullying tactics in the only way to handle bullies.. they called them out on that in front of their "friends".  I'm sure the CNBC people "supported" each other afterwards, but they were all stripped of their credibility..

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After last nigh's debate.. I'm still liking Trump, followed by Cruz, but I think all the Republicans fared well in their own way as they unified in front of a live and TV audience.. This is what the Republican Party has needed .. to be unified in their message and  purpose.. America's dire need to regain its greatness. Now, if the candidates can stay on this track and let the people simply choose which one is the best messenger.

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I can see this lineup in 2016.. Trump-Kasich  as P/VP.. with Carson Secretary of Education, and Cruz as Senate Majority Leader.. and if Ryan "slips" bring in Newt as Speaker of the House.

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Online story:  "The CNN hosts on Wednesday took more incoming than anyone on stage as candidates from Cruz to Carson slammed the moderators for questions they deemed unfair. Even the audience got in on the act. * The moderators repeatedly looked to corner the candidates on unseemly skeletons from their past, but the candidates would have none of it -- rallying together to slam the moderators' questions and the mainstream media overall." -- "even the audience got in on the act"? Even CNN "got it".. CNN's analysis deemed the night's biggest loser was ..CNBC.  What's even better is that the TV audience "got it", too. My bride, normally rather cynical about politics to the point she leaves the room to watch something else, sat impressed with the show of strength generated by the Republicans as a whole.. you think the studio audience's reactions were reflective of what CNN was trying to do,, you shoulda heard my bride get pumped up.. haven't seen her get so excited about what was happening in politics since last year's thumping the Dawgs put on Auburn.

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Online headline/story: "Boehner reveals biggest regret as House speaker *  Boehner's biggest regret, he said, was not finalizing a major budget deal with President Barack Obama in 2011 that would put the country on a much sounder fiscal footing." -- Well, that's a start.. hope he regrets 2012's, 2013's, 2014's, and 2015's failures as opportunities to correct his 2011 regret..

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I do not know what happened at the International Sniper Competition , but it was won by the Canadians.. Good grief.. that's a sign that we need a real commander-in-chief in the Oval Office, and G.I. Jillary ain't that "hope  & change" America needs.

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Online headline: "Major city passes budget with huge property tax hike" -- Nope it was Chicago.. not Columbus, GA because we have "the freeze".. but this headline could easily been talking about Columbus, GA if Mayor ObamaLYINGson gets her way.

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One of the Mayor's outspoken supporters has made the claim that we have 29,000 of 65,000 homestead properties that pay less than $100.00 annually  (and 15,000 pay less than $50.00). I have sent him this request:

I would like to see a breakdown by numbers/percentages by quadrants for private and rental residential properties that are paying less than $100.00 in property taxes.

I'd also like to know how much those 29,000 such properties are paying in sewage and garbage fees as well.

Thanks..
Hal
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I sent info to the above realtor, Council, and some news reporters and politicians in Columbus about some of the lowest tax paying private properties being located in a premium luxury condominium complex situated on the river in downtown.. the Eagle & Phenix... I compiled the totals of the first 20 condos listed in the property tax digest.. those 20 units are valued at almost $4,500,000.00 yet the total property taxes those 20 owners pay is $1,276.23. That's right..a total of $1,276.23 dollars is collected on property assessed at nearly $4,500,000.00. .. and there are 67 more of those condos than the twenty I have compiled this info.. And it gets worse.. 5 of those 20 (that's 25%) units pay less the $5.00 in property taxes! And some of these condo owners have other homes in Columbus on which they are claiming (and receiving) Homestead Exemptions as their primary residence.. The excuse used to justify this is a special loophole provided to encourage redevelopment of historic properties.. I can see certain value of doing this to develop such properties, but giving a 10 year window of tax favoritism to the individuals who purchase "the finished project" just rings of elitism.

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Oh, and another fact about  the sampling of 20 of the 87 units listed at the E & P Condos:

8 of the 20 units are owned by out-of-town people from as far away as Hawaii, Washington State and New York.. The total.. TOTAL property taxes paid by the 8 out-of-town owners is $564.19. Think about this,, those out-of-towners are paying less in taxes than if they paid the hotel occupancy taxes while they visit.

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Oh, and one thing you can be assured of.. the luxury Condo owners at Eagle & Phenix will be supporting Mayor ObamaLYINGson's plan.. must be nice to get preferred treatment on taxes.

 

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I wonder how a certain L-E journalist feels about him paying more than 10 times the property taxes on his Broadway home in the Historic District than his parents who live at the Eagle & Phenix luxury condos that is assessed at twice the value of his Broadway home...

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Let's hold Mayor ObamaLYINGson's feet "to her fire".. She still has the H1 (primary residence)  Homestead Exemption on her home.. if she wants to pay more taxes, she can voluntarily give up her exemption.

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Online headline: "Sheriff fires deputy for tossing student across classroom" -- This I can support.. under the worst situations (other than if the student had a gun in hand), was excessive given the size and age of the student.. On the other hand.. I will never support the claims of "Black Lives Matter" nor the DOJ's actions against the police officers in Ferguson or Baltimore.

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Online story: "The security force that protects federal buildings has more SUVs than officers, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) watchdog, which found $2.5 million wasted each year due to mismanagement of its vehicle fleet. -- Good grief.. hope our School Superintendent doesn't hire the DHS's "fleet manager". I haven't seen this years figures but I do know last year the MCSD had over 500 buses in house, and only 207 bus drivers..and are buying MORE Buses!

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Online headline/story: "Oxygen discovered on Rosetta comet, stunning scientists * Scientists say they have for the first time detected oxygen on a comet, a finding that could upend theories about how the solar system was formed. * While molecular oxygen has been found in Jupiter and Saturn, it’s never been found on a comet. The neutral gas comas of most comets are composed largely of water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide." -- Good grief.. are these idiots the same one that are so cock-sure that God doesn't exist and humans are causing "global warming/climate change"? How can "discovering oxygen on a comet" which has water on it be a "discovery".. I'm sure the water on the comet is chemically the same as water on Earth, and I learned early on, even in public school, that water was "2 parts Hydrogen and 1 part Oxygen" so every comet with water has oxygen! I think the taxpayers should be given relief from our government hiring/paying scientists that think this is a "discovery'.

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"Greenlight a vet"....there are ads running to encourage us to buy a "green" light and keep it lit so vets will know "we care".  I don't think my lighting a green light in a window every day will enhance my respect for our vets, but if you feel guilty enough to do this, do 2 things..make sure it's an American made bulb, and not from GE.

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I actually heard a Fox News reporter say HILLsbury DOUGHgirl was an underdog in NH ..what BS. and media bias. HILLary has just been reeling from being out liberalized, but she's catching up as we speak.

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I received a copy of this (from the writer) that was sent to Columbus Council and Mayor ObamaLYINGson, and think it's worthy of passing on to the Breakfast Club members/readers. Some of you in other cities may want to check on how your local governments are handling his as well:

Columbus City Council Members,

 My name is Blair Brown and I am the Vice President of Operations at All-American Recycling, Inc. We are a locally owned, as well as Woman-Owned-Business, that has operated successfully in Columbus for the past 28 years.

 I wanted to share with you some of my expertise with the recycling markets so that it could possibly help you with making decisions regarding our city’s recycling program. First and foremost, I have NO vested interest in hindering the city’s recycling efforts whatsoever. What the city is doing is considered municipal curbside recycling. Our company has no part in such type of business. Instead, our focus is, and always has been, on commercial recycling. (Some of our clients include Proctor & Gamble, Kia, AFLAC, Kellogg, etc.)

 Frankly, what I see with the city’s recycling program- from the outside looking in- is massive spending by our city government with little return on expenditures. It has been touted by some that the city’s recycling program brought in nearly $600,000 in revenue last year. In my humble opinion, the City Council should examine what it cost to make that $600,000. With my recycling business experience, I would guess it cost nearly double or triple that figure. When one considers all the trucks that are leased, the fuel used, the manpower to pick up-supervise, process and maintain the program……. Expenses would be considered an ocean vs a drop in comparison to the latest discussions regarding costs to maintain the city owned golf courses.

 To add, with the changeover to a once-a-week garbage pickup, the emphasis is going to be squarely on spending more money on the recycling program-by default. From an expense to revenue standpoint, this could be disastrous for the city’s recycling budget. To explain, with the expansion of the program, you are going to have many more expenses yet the revenue stream is not going to grow correspondingly as it did last year. One big reason is that scrap plastic prices have declined dramatically from 2014 to 2015 and are not expected to get better any time soon. As you may know, scrap plastic prices correspond with the crude oil prices-therefore you can quickly see the decline I’m talking about.

 Here are a few articles about the scrap plastics pricing declines and how the markets have affected municipal recycling programs:

 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150510/POLITICS/150509846/citys-recycling-is-trashed-as-cheap-oil-sinks-plastic

 http://www.recyclingtoday.com/article/montgomery-alabama-infinitus-waste-processing-temporary-closure -this article explains the recent closure of the Montgomery, AL recycling center due to significant market pricing declines.

 http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/oct/18/south-pittsburg-board-shuts-down-recycling-pr/331239/ Tennessee city recycling program shut down to high costs


As a local employer of 24 people and a tax paying citizen, my only goal with this email is to ask you to please consider how our taxpayer dollars are spent. If the current program is on ‘shaky’ ground, why put more money into it? One day, just like it happened in 2008, the recycling markets could crash. Thereafter, the city could be left with an empty recycling center (with millions of dollars spent) and nothing to show for it. Just ask Montgomery, AL city officials and the mayor now-they know this first hand.

 Thank you for your time and the opportunity of letting me share my views with you all.

 Sincerely,

 Blair Brown  

My comments: This is very pertinent as Mayor ObamaLYINGson and Council have recently enlarged our Recycling Cent up-to-tenfold the previous capacity, and have taken a serious path to engage in a more vigorous tax-dollar-wasting recycling plan.

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Jonathan Gruber incredibly stupid LIV's L-E "soundoff": " What hypocrisy the Benghazi hearing was. All those mad Republicans are the same people who want to cut the State Department budget, which places our people abroad in danger." -- Good grief.. the only hypocrisy was the Democrat Committee members who defended her because of their party affiliations., Just another example of Ronald Reagan's observation.. "liberals just know so much that isn't so".

 

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Another Jonathan Gruber incredibly stupid LIV's L-E "soundoff": " Thank you, Millard Grimes, for your column explaining the current deficit. It is well written and researched. Republicans need to stop scaring Americans about it." -- I read the same column this past Sunday, and this was my take: Good grief... to liberals,, a lower increase of a budget item, or a decrease in the percent of an increase over the previous budget is a reduction of the budget deficit..In addition.. even if the overall budget comes in less than proposed, when the National Debt rises, there is not a reduction in budgetary spending" Just another example of a liberal feeling what ain't so.

 

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Well, we're down to today, tomorrow and Saturday for the Whittlesey Road widening project to be finish 6 months over due.. I'm still taking guess for my "pool".. You might want to consider a date in 2016 at this time.

 

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L-E's "Thought for Today": “Put it before them briefly so they will read it, clearly so they will appreciate it, picturesquely so they will remember it and, above all, accurately so they will be guided by its light.”— Joseph Pulitzer, American newspaper publisher (born 1847, died this date in 1911)." -- Hmmm.. then the Pulitizer Committee has lost the ideal of its icon journalist/publisher.. too many liberal journalist have won such prizes, and accuracy is not in their writings...It also would be a good ideal for the Nobel Peace Prixe Committee to follow as well..since obviously it doesn't.

 

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From the L-E's "This day in history" feature: "On this date: In 1901, President William McKinley’s assassin, Leon Czolgosz, was electrocuted." -- Compare that to how John Hinckley has been handled.. you know, the man that shot Reagan in 1981.. not only is he still breathing , he gets 8 17-day furloughs a year to visit his family. In a more current story, James Brady, who Hinckley also shot that day, and who was extremely disabled, died from and his death has been ruled a homicide because it was from complications from being shot by Hinckley, but Hinckley is not being charged for such. We have to purge liberals from the becnh and Congress!

 

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A letter in the L-E says this: "I was never scared of witches, zombies, and assorted goblins wandering around on Halloween. What really used to scare me was the meat industry. This is the industry that mutilates, cages, and butchers billions of cows, pigs, and other feeling animals, that exposes thousands of undocumented workers to crippling workplace injuries at slave wages, that exploits farmers and ranchers by dictating wholesale prices, then jails those who document its abuses through unconstitutional “ag-gag” laws. Now, that’s really scary stuff *   But, instead of being scared, I decided to fight back by dropping animal products from my menu. I invite everyone to join me. * Dave Kephart Columbus" -- Good grief, hope some one will show "Dave" how veggies are picked, crated, shipped and stored.. he'd probably quit eating altogether.. and in a week or so.. the world would be better off.

 

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Hmmm.. so Walgreens has bought Rite-Aid.. guess Walgreen wants to be ready as a single source prescription center as OObamaCRAP moves to a single-payer insurance company.