Hello Trump, Good Bye GOP?

08/18/16

Hello Trump, Good Bye GOP?

"The reality is that we now have to defend a foul mouth, vile, unhinged,
unprincipled candidate," lamented a respected Christian leader supporting
Trump. After the impressive field of candidates, the primary voters including
many Democrats in open primaries, have given us Trump.

This leaves many voters both dismayed and disgusted. To be clear, I am not an
establishment or a big donor Republican. For many years I have been a
grassroots activist volunteer working to elect principled, conservative
Republicans. And once elected, holding them accountable.

There is plenty of blame to go around explaining the current situation. First,
the party establishment and leadership refused to fight the disastrous Obama
agenda. The usually reliable conservative media including, Fox Network, Rush
Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge and Breitbart news, rode the Trump train
early on. Their role in giving us Trump is undeniable.

One especially surprising group-some Christian pastors and leaders. A group of
about 1000 of them were invited to meet with Trump at a carefully orchestrated
meeting. Many afterwards came away impressed and inclined to support Trump.
They said Trump professed to be prolife, pro religious liberty and would
appoint conservative Supreme Court Justices. Years of political experience has
shown me that a campaign conversion is the weakest assurance of a candidate's
future positions. Nothing is better than a proven track record. Unfortunately,
Trump’s record is one supporting just about everything conservative
Republicans oppose.

As a Republican Party faithful, I am a true believer. I believe I was called
to be salt and light in this political arena. The sanctity of life issue is
very important. Yet I am to overlook Trump’s defense of Planned
Parenthood. Supposedly the social issues don’t matter this election cycle.
Doesn’t character matter? Any individual lacking in character does not
deserve an elected office. Trump has shown he will say or do whatever it takes
to "win". He changes positions as needed, including his on abortion 3, 4 times
within a few days. His campaign has said his proposals are "suggestions", a
sort of starting point for negotiations.

In fact, recently he was quoted in the New York Times Magazine when asked
about the importance of maintaining a Republican Senate, saying, "Well, I'd
like them to do that. But I don't mind being a free agent either." Surely he
knows that with a Democrat Senate, his main agenda items, Supreme Court
nominees, the wall and illegal immigration, would be blocked. That statement
clearly undermines the reasons many give for supporting him.

Yet the party demands that I once again hold my nose and vote Trump. Oh yes,
I've done that with Dole, McCain and Romney so much so I think my nose will
break. Trump is the last straw and I will not be badgered, bullied, guilt
tripped or insulted into voting for him.(Although, living in the bluest state
of California my non vote for Trump is of no consequence.)

Simon & Garfunkel lyrics in the song "Mrs. Robinson" really convey the
predicament:

"Going to the candidates' debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Every way you look at this you lose."

Today, for the first time, I am seriously considering leaving the GOP. With
Trump as its head, it has rejected principle, integrity and truth. Thus it has
left me.

“if to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disapprove, how can we
afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and
honest can repair. The rest is in the hands of God.”
George Washington

Sylvia Sullivan

(Republican Party involvement includes serving multiple terms on the San Diego
County Republican Central Committee and Executive Committee. Was an appointed
delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1992. Currently is appointed
to the State of California Republican Party. As well as serving as the
President of the East County California Republican Assembly since the early
2000’s. Worked in countless campaigns to help elect conservative Republicans
by volunteering to precinct walk, make phone calls, and distribute voter info,
organizing slate mailers, forums and debates.)

La Mesa, CA
sylvias@usa.net

gop bye.docx

When Freedom is Lost!

Thank you for the opportunity to share with the Murietta - Temecula CRA on this important topic communism, when freedom is lost. My presentation will be a bit different since the accounts I relate are what happened to my family because of the Castro communist regime.. My parents were fortunate in that they lived in the US when Castro took over, unlike many of our family members.

 Both of my parents were born and raised in Holguin, Cuba, a large town in the province of Oriente. My great uncle Segundo was twice elected mayor of the town. Yes, under the corrupt dictator Batista there were some freedoms of speech, religion, travel, property rights. Cuba had a higher per-capita income than much of Europe in 1958 before Castro.. Today, journalist, Michael J. Totten, who recently traveled to Cuba made this comparison. “I visited Iraq seven times during the war… Baghdad while ugly and dangerous is vastly freer and more prosperous these days than Havana.”

My Dad’s uncle was the Consul at the Cuban embassy in Washington D.C. On his invitation my Dad went to work in DC. When World War II broke out, he joined the US army and fought in Italy. After the War he returned to Cuba, married my Mom. He was then stationed in the Panama Canal Zone.

Initially, Fidel Castro, was embraced by much of the Cuban people eager to rid themselves of a corrupt dictator. Like all communists Castro lied and hid his Marxism until he was entrenched. One method he used to consolidate power in the beginning was to disarm the people. Upon his victory and vanquishing of Batista; he called on everyone to turn in their weapons. They were all brothers and sisters now had no need for them. Most of the people were happy to comply. Left defenseless the murderous reign of terror began as thousands were lined up before the firing squads.

 Next, the destruction of family was a goal for complete control. My Aunt Lilia, my Dad’s youngest sister became a revolutionary. She led the communists when they came to her parent’s home, to divide it up. They were told the home was too big for one family, so a couple other families moved in. Aunt Lilia served as a faithful comrade for years. When her parents escaped she stayed back. Her letters to them were full of slogans of the revolution. Years later as an older woman, she expressed to the party a desire to visit her family in Miami. The communists told her she could go but first must get a physical at the hospital. She asked why, since she was very healthy. They insisted so she went. While there they gave her a fatal injection. Our family learned of it from a nurse who had escaped Cuba and was present. With her usefulness over, she was discarded.

 On my mother’s side, my uncle Jorge became active in the party. He sent his son, Jorgito to fight in Angola. He later told me when had escaped that his mission in Angola, he was told was to fight for freedom. What he found was that he was to kill women and children. When he refused his father had him sentenced to hard labor. He was released during the time of the Marielitos boatlift. His anguish didn’t end, as whenever he wrote letters to his mother, the communists made sure she never got them. So he continued to receive her letters begging to hear from him and asking why he had forgotten her.

As family members were able leave Cuba with nothing but the clothes on their back we sponsored them till they could get on their feet. Part of the process was to go through a gauntlet of vicious communists that would spit and yell insults, gusanos, maggots as they boarded the plane. My Aunt Isabel, a widow, was threatened with loss of her finger if she did not take off her wedding ring. My Aunt Louisa and family were forced to leave her son, Dennis because he was of military age. I remember her years later, in the hospital close to death, hanging on looking at the door hoping he would come. He did not.
 My Aunt Yolanda and Uncle Manolo with 2 kids were on the plane when armed regime military removed four men off the plane. One was my uncle. When my Aunt tried to also get off the plane she was forced at gunpoint to sit back down. They came to the states not knowing his fate for about 6 months when he was released and sent to the states. He never wanted to talk about what happened to him while he was incarcerated.
The physical and emotional scars ingrained, are today expressed as a love for freedom and gratitude for America. As my Dad always said, “This is the greatest country in the world.” I pray we can keep it!

1/22/16

All Lives Matter

Unbelievably another Roe v Wade anniversary is upon us as the dead babies number about 58 million lives lost after 43 years. Do these lives matter?

Overall 2015 was not a good year for the abortion industry. First, the special report compiled by Operation Rescue revealed in their 2015 Abortion Clinic Survey that since 1991, 81% of abortion clinics closed. Public opinion is turning against the killing of babies and the harming of their mothers.  One expression of this is the March for Life when hundreds of thousands mostly young fresh faces participate in DC each year.

 Then the nation’s largest abortion provider lost its mask of respectability when exposed by the Center for Medical Progress.  Their series of videos clearly showed the evil of high leveled Planned Parenthood personnel coldly haggling over the prices of baby hearts, brains and tissue. Their heartless jokes as organs are cut out of babies with beating hearts would make Joseph Mengele proud. (the infamous Angel of Death Nazi doctor). Nationally, there are efforts to defund Planned Parenthood as well as states investigating them. Those babies’ lives should matter.

In desperate damage control, PP president Cecile Richards confirmed that her group’s affiliates would no longer accept reimbursements for collecting and transporting the baby parts. PP has also sought to shoot the messenger by filing suit against the Center Medical Progress to silence and punish them for reporting the truth of their profiting from selling baby parts.

2016 has the potential to accelerate the return to respect for all human life. All the Republican presidential candidates: Cruz, Trump, Rubio, Carson, Bush, Christie, Kasich, Fiorina, Huckabee and Santorum are prolife. Hillary Clinton on the other hand, just received the first ever PP endorsement of a candidate in a presidential primary.  Indeed in the endorsement PP president, Cecile Richards, stated, “Everything Planned Parenthood has believed in and fought for over the past 100 years is on the ballot” She has a point.

Most know if honest, no matter how small, all lives DO matter.

Sylvia Sullivan

sylvias@usa.net

When Servants Become Masters

Anger and frustration filled the overflowing room of irate ratepayers at the Helix Water District meeting last Wednesday.

The meeting started off tense but restrained as the public sat politely listening to the almost hour long staff presentation. When told the consultant, from Raftelis Financial Consultants, Inc. would make another presentation the people had enough. The discussion became as heated as the temperature in the room. One after another they explained it was time for the people to be heard as they could read the packet for themselves. It was suggested he be given 3 minutes like public’s allotted time. Then one loud mouth in the front hollered at the top of his lungs that he was new in the area and wanted to hear the speaker, who promised to be brief. The people were forced to endure another similar presentation. The people lost that first round.

Finally it was the time for the ratepayers to plead their cases. Many stressed how they had conserved water only to be penalized with higher rates. Many implored that as a fixed income or low income person they could not afford to keep paying ever increasing water bills. Many pointed out the need to cut the district’s extravagant employee salaries and benefits which are far above their customer’s income levels.

The board and their staff had one message and stuck to it repeatedly. This is the process to raise your rates. This is why we will raise your rates. There will not be any surprises as we raise your rates. This is how you will be notified as we raise your rates.

There was little or no thought of holding rates or even less reducing rates. Having checked the crystal ball the board majority decreed the future to be higher rates for less water.  Other than convenience and other districts do it too, what benefit is it to the paying customers to have a 5 year plan rather than a 1 or 2 year one? Especially since the Board assured everyone that there will be plenty of opportunity for public input before the next hike in the 5 year plan. Sadly, what occurred at Wednesday’s meeting demonstrated that public input is nothing more than a kabuki show. 

And in the end the pleas, valid points made no difference. The meeting and votes were predetermined by the masters. The Board and Governor Brown, have taken control of how much water and at what cost the people, now servants, will pay.

The people do have recourse as the board members are elected. The three board members voting for the 5yr plan rate hike were De Ana Verbeke, John Linden and Chuck Muse. Linden and Muse are up for reelection in 2016. Hopefully, the people will remember in November to elect true public servants.

                                             

sylvias@usa.net              La Mesa, CA

Thoughts on Roger Hedgecock ending his show :(

 Oh No!

Roger, please say it isn't so
Faithful listeners can't let go!

You know the world's on fire
Surely, this is no time to retire!

Thanks for so much and many years
We'll carry on, holding back tears....

Glad you will still be around
So none will tear the Soledad Cross down!

Now you have time for our CRA party in December
Christmas fun night you'll always remember!

Roger let us know what's next and new
As our blessings & prayers go with you!

Sincerely,

Sylvia 

A Real Low at CRP Convention

In a disturbing turn of events the CRP ignored its own by-laws by moving to recognize and charter the Log Cabin Republicans. Although the Chairman claimed he simply followed the by-laws by turning over the application to the Volunteer Committee. He chose to overlook the elephant in the room by violating another section of the by-laws as noted below:


                 "ARTICLE III   Miscellaneous

Section 3.01     CHARTERING, SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION OF

                 VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION
        (A)  The Committee will consider for issuance of a charter, and recognition of delegate
             positions and appointment rights under these bylaws, any organization whose
             primary purpose is supporting and promoting the Republican principles and
             platforms, and will not consider organizations based on special agendas, such as
             Republicans motivated by profit, Republicans for certain life-style preferences or
             orientations, Republicans for any personal agenda."

Laughably the Chairman also claimed that the Log Cabin group had changed their by-laws and they did not advocate for a certain life-style. I really wondered if that is the case then what is the purpose of their group? This did not even begin to address the other violation since the Log Cabin group intensely opposes the party platform regarding marriage.


"From CA Log Cabin website
Published on Apr 22, 2013


Log Cabin Republicans is the nation's largest Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans and their allies. For more than 30 years, we have promoted the fight for equality through our state and local chapters, our full-time office in Washington, DC, and our federal and state political action committees."

Conservative Republicans were out maneuvered and out gunned by being naive in thinking that by-laws and rules have meaning. They also were unprepared and caught off guard in responding or having  votes present (many from Southern California left before the vote as they had planes to catch) Another underlining factor was the Munger money, whose influence is felt everywhere ever since the party became beholding to him. In another amusing comment from the Chairman, he claimed no knowledge of Munger's role in the Log Cabin charter push. It was obvious, I observed a Bay Area meeting, Saturday night led by Munger as they planned the strategy for the vote at the session the next morning.

This was a real warning shot; Conservative Republicans will simply have to do better. The upcoming CRP Fall convention will have on the agenda the party platform which is always under attack. The life and marriage issue will have to be defended once again.

Finally, there is one possibly good thing about the new status for the Log Cabin group. They are no longer permitted to support Democrat LGBT candidates or actively oppose the party platform initiatives. If they were to do so as a charter group, their charter should be revoked, provided the rules are followed. We will be watching.

Rest of the Story - One of Many

                                         (Dad, Orestes Sera, promoted to First Sergeant)

An explosion shook the country when Obama unconstitutionally decreed amnesty for millions of illegals.Untold millions more await to join the invasion since Obama refuses to secure the borders. Obama also claims our immigration system is broken. It is now. He has broken it by his lawlessness in refusing to enforce the immigration laws. As generations of legal immigrants can attest the system did work. It still could within the legal process of securing the borders and updating the regulations where needed.

It is well known that Obama is fond of telling stories. Our family story in not unlike millions of other stories of legal immigration, the American way. The path is one of assimilation through commitment and hard work to become a successful and productive addition to the country.

It begins with my father coming to America from Cuba, legally to work. Then World War II broke out and he joined the Army to fight for the country he had grown to love. Fighting valiantly, he earned his citizenship.

He married my Mom, also from Cuba and they were stationed in the Panama Canal Zone base. My Mom slowly learned English by listening to Country music radio stations. Dad received orders to return to the States.

It was essential that Mom study hard the history and government of the United States to pass her exam in English for citizenship. The pride and joy were overwhelming as she, too became a citizen.
However, a dark cloud loomed when her X-Ray showed a spot on her lung, since being disease free was also a requirement. Anxiety was high because if a second test also showed a problem, she would not be allowed to go with Dad. Tears of joy and relief flowed as the second test showed clear lungs!

Assimilation does not equate obliteration of original roots and heritage. My parents made sure we would not forget Spanish. It was strictly enforced that no English was spoken in the home only Spanish. In fact, if we were caught speaking English inside, the punishment was to write it all in Spanish.
Although is was a real pain, today my siblings and I are so very grateful to be bi-lingual.
We learned English by playing with friends in the neighborhood and at school by total immersion. Children's brains are made to learn  and absorb language and we did.
As with most kids, were we teased and made fun of in the beginning, sure. We got over it and excelled becoming honor roll students.

Our story is not unique but a real tribute to the exceptionalism of America !
It is said that Benjamin Franklin was asked "Well, Doctor, what have we got- a Republic or a Monarchy?" He replied, " A Republic, if you can keep it."

Memo to Obama: by God's grace, we have not yet begun to fight to keep it!