Of course we Republicans love connecting the President to any wrongdoing we can and there is usually a case to be made for such. It's easy to go after the top dog in any situation as having the ultimate responsibility for everything happening under their authority. That happens year after year in one way or another regardless of who is in office. Don't get me wrong here, an awful lot has piled up against this administration in the last few weeks alone and by all indications they deserve everything coming to them. Benghazi, AP reporter phone records, IRS Tea Party impropriety - it's all pretty great told-you-so stuff for Republicans to point out the absolute ineptness of Barrack Obama.
Consider this though - Obama is as slick as they come and he is almost everything the far left has dreamed about. It is absolutely plausible that his underlings can act without his knowledge or approval in ways we can only fathom and do so for the explicit reason of leaving him squeaky clean and with deniability. We've probably had sleeper cells of socialists working in the government for decades just waiting for the right time to make their move. Now they've been emboldened to act in a manner to please their leader and play a part in bringing down the dreadful USA they all abhor. Imagine the IRS agents now dropping their catch at the foot of their master for approval and praise. Check their breath. The guilty ones probably smell like dead mouse.
A.J.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Friday, April 26, 2013
Joshua Mayor Candidate Forum
Last night the Joshua Star hosted a candidate forum at the Joshua Fire Station to allow the public a chance to get to know the candidates and hear directly from them their plans for Joshua, their past performance in their present duties and a general feel for the candidate's personalities. Johnson County Precinct 2 Commissioner, Kenny Howell, did a great job moderating the event.
Joshua Mayor, Joe Hollarn, performed just as I expected last night being on point with good information and a zest in his role as our current mayor. Joe and I spend a lot of time together attending meetings both in Joshua and beyond and a variety of other functions. I've gotten to know him well and appreciate him as the mayor of Joshua and as a friend. He's a great mayor, the best person for the job and I encourage Joshua voters to re-elect him on May 11th.
Councilman Gary Smith is Mayor Hollarn's challenger this year and Gary's candidacy came as quite a shock to many people. Gary has not been one of our more outspoken council members which I think is why so many people were surprised when he threw his hat into the ring for the top dog position. Gary's primary campaign point has been getting the public more involved with input in the decision making process for the city. That is completely admirable and valid. I think we do a pretty good job of that now, but that's a task that will always have room for improvement and new ideas are always welcome. It's actually a lot harder than one might think. I ran on a platform of accessibility, public input and interest and put my contact information on everything I put out and still the phone rarely rings with citizen inquiries. The number is 817-426-1641, by the way. Gary kept on that point, but he demonstrated something more important last night; courage. Gary is not a comfortable public speaker. I think he would agree with me on that. I think Gary knew that when he filed for mayor and he knew that when he agreed to participate in last night's forum. He knew that when he stepped up to the podium and the words he may have had in his head didn't come out of his mouth. That didn't stop him though. He took his time to gather his thoughts even though 40+ people were sitting in deafening silence and watching. It took a lot of character and perseverance for Gary to continue on through 90 minutes of questions. I don't think Gary Smith gained an edge on being elected Mayor of Joshua last night, but I do think he gained a lot of people's respect. I know he gained mine.
A.J.
Joshua Mayor, Joe Hollarn, performed just as I expected last night being on point with good information and a zest in his role as our current mayor. Joe and I spend a lot of time together attending meetings both in Joshua and beyond and a variety of other functions. I've gotten to know him well and appreciate him as the mayor of Joshua and as a friend. He's a great mayor, the best person for the job and I encourage Joshua voters to re-elect him on May 11th.
Councilman Gary Smith is Mayor Hollarn's challenger this year and Gary's candidacy came as quite a shock to many people. Gary has not been one of our more outspoken council members which I think is why so many people were surprised when he threw his hat into the ring for the top dog position. Gary's primary campaign point has been getting the public more involved with input in the decision making process for the city. That is completely admirable and valid. I think we do a pretty good job of that now, but that's a task that will always have room for improvement and new ideas are always welcome. It's actually a lot harder than one might think. I ran on a platform of accessibility, public input and interest and put my contact information on everything I put out and still the phone rarely rings with citizen inquiries. The number is 817-426-1641, by the way. Gary kept on that point, but he demonstrated something more important last night; courage. Gary is not a comfortable public speaker. I think he would agree with me on that. I think Gary knew that when he filed for mayor and he knew that when he agreed to participate in last night's forum. He knew that when he stepped up to the podium and the words he may have had in his head didn't come out of his mouth. That didn't stop him though. He took his time to gather his thoughts even though 40+ people were sitting in deafening silence and watching. It took a lot of character and perseverance for Gary to continue on through 90 minutes of questions. I don't think Gary Smith gained an edge on being elected Mayor of Joshua last night, but I do think he gained a lot of people's respect. I know he gained mine.
A.J.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Pushing the limits of faith and freedom.
This morning the City of Cleburne welcomed former Congressman J.C. Watts to the annual Christian Leaders Prayer Breakfast. It was an inspiring morning to say the least and I was honored to be in the room with so many wonderful Christian leaders, many of whom make their home right here in Johnson County. Congressman Watts spoke of the tendency for so many to try to enter through the narrow door of Heaven with so much baggage and a mindset of pushing our lives as far as we can and still get in. We ought to be living far from the point of question and well within the boundaries of the life Christ modeled for us and describes to us in His Word. It occurred to me that too many of our leaders take this same approach to the U.S. Constitution. Why must the next big bill in Congress always have to be pushing the limits of constitutionality and move so many of our freedoms to eventual Supreme Court decisions? If our constitutionally elected leaders respected the document they swear to uphold they would serve us all better by steering clear of its limits and govern with reverence.
A.J.
A.J.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Dear Public Education,
I am 40. I rarely feel old, but when I do it's usually when my child, a student in a public school, mentions yet another system I do not know about or understand. I'm pretty sure that in 1980 acronyms and abbreviations had not been invented yet so please don't assume that I know what each one is that you create. When I was in elementary school we didn't have strategies and tools to learn. We had teachers and work and tests and grades and consequences. Why does everything have to have a cute name? Why can the kids not just be taught to read, write and do mathematics?
The answer, I think, is becoming more clear to me. It seems that in the absence of actually teaching something a firewall is being employed in the education system. One that they hope will cover them if the child doesn't learn what they need to learn, but still score well on standardized tests. As an aside I believe in a nutshell that the state throws out what was supposed to be the next greatest measure of education every few years to adopt another in the hopes that it will make the kids seem smarter. "If we can just come up with the perfect test then we'll really know how well we're doing". Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just teach, but I digress. Now instead of just learning to read our kids have to learn strategies on reading and comprehension and it seems to have gotten to the point of becoming the subject more than the subject itself. The kids are not graded on the answers to the tests, but how they got the answer. Why? Because if not all the students learn in the first place then maybe they'll have the tools to come up with the right answer when Mr. Board of Education comes around with his test. It's a numbers game. Teach the heck out of the strategy and the likelihood will go up that the students test well. Of course if the students test well then you can put a banner up outside.
I've had the pleasure of getting to know more and more public school teachers and administrators and I see the frustration they have in dealing with state and federal mandates that are forced upon them. This is yet another display of how government intervention in our lives makes things worse. And more government will not fix it. Curriculum should be set by local districts and technique should be set by teachers. The state needs to get out of the testing business altogether. It's nothing more than a point of frustration for everyone involved. And tax money should follow the student wherever they go to school, public or private.
Sincerely,
A.J. Mathieu, frustrated parent born in the 70's who turned out just fine.
The answer, I think, is becoming more clear to me. It seems that in the absence of actually teaching something a firewall is being employed in the education system. One that they hope will cover them if the child doesn't learn what they need to learn, but still score well on standardized tests. As an aside I believe in a nutshell that the state throws out what was supposed to be the next greatest measure of education every few years to adopt another in the hopes that it will make the kids seem smarter. "If we can just come up with the perfect test then we'll really know how well we're doing". Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and just teach, but I digress. Now instead of just learning to read our kids have to learn strategies on reading and comprehension and it seems to have gotten to the point of becoming the subject more than the subject itself. The kids are not graded on the answers to the tests, but how they got the answer. Why? Because if not all the students learn in the first place then maybe they'll have the tools to come up with the right answer when Mr. Board of Education comes around with his test. It's a numbers game. Teach the heck out of the strategy and the likelihood will go up that the students test well. Of course if the students test well then you can put a banner up outside.
I've had the pleasure of getting to know more and more public school teachers and administrators and I see the frustration they have in dealing with state and federal mandates that are forced upon them. This is yet another display of how government intervention in our lives makes things worse. And more government will not fix it. Curriculum should be set by local districts and technique should be set by teachers. The state needs to get out of the testing business altogether. It's nothing more than a point of frustration for everyone involved. And tax money should follow the student wherever they go to school, public or private.
Sincerely,
A.J. Mathieu, frustrated parent born in the 70's who turned out just fine.
Friday, November 16, 2012
The City of Joshua didn't punch anyone.
By now most people have heard about yet another pee-wee sports issue involving parents with less than satisfactory decision making skills. This time it was pee-wee football and Joshua has unfortunately become the focus. I'm not interested in getting into the people involved or what transpired. I was not there and most likely, you weren't either. That's for the justice system to deal with, but the court of public opinion is in full swing and for some reason the City of Joshua seems to be the one getting convicted.
Some people hold the opinion that any small town is somehow backwards and beneath the enlightened people of larger population centers. I've been reading comments online from many such people. Admittedly I am biased. I represent the great City of Joshua, but I think these people need to step back and look at the facts.
First, the Joshua ISD has become a highly acclaimed district with ratings few others near or far have achieved. The Joshua Chamber of Commerce is on an upward trend in membership and recently moved into the historic McPherson House providing a beautiful gateway for businesses to thrive in our city. The Johnson County Special Utility District is pursuing grant funding for infrastructure improvements in the city. Pathway Com-Tel and AT&T are working on telecom infrastructure expansions and improvements in the city.
Over the last several years the Joshua City Council and staff have opened a beautiful new park, the city's first. Construction is wrapping up on our new fire station. A year ago we got a new fire engine capable of more efficient fire suppression. We now have a full-time paid fire chief that has made a multitude of improvements to the department and reduced response times in the city. Our police department has received numerous improvements to vehicles and equipment that all result in greater public safety and the safety of our officers. For those who still insist that Joshua is just a speed trap you'll be surprised learn that we issued over a thousand more traffic warnings than tickets this year so far. That's because it's about safety, not revenue. In an effort to reach out and connect with the community our Citizens Police Academy is about to enter its fourth year and 2013 will bring our first Citizens Fire Academy. We have a brand new Brookshire's grocery store set to open in about 4 months and construction will start on our new YMCA recreation center around the same time. The city council is actively engaged with a research group at UTA to develop a beautification project for Highway 174 and just a few days ago we learned that due to conservative fiscal diligence Standard & Poor's has upgraded the city's bond rating from A to A+.
The list goes on and on so before you take the actions of one person and associate my entire city with it remember that individuals will always make bad decisions from time to time, but over last many years a collective in the City of Joshua has made a lot more good decisions.
A.J.
Some people hold the opinion that any small town is somehow backwards and beneath the enlightened people of larger population centers. I've been reading comments online from many such people. Admittedly I am biased. I represent the great City of Joshua, but I think these people need to step back and look at the facts.
First, the Joshua ISD has become a highly acclaimed district with ratings few others near or far have achieved. The Joshua Chamber of Commerce is on an upward trend in membership and recently moved into the historic McPherson House providing a beautiful gateway for businesses to thrive in our city. The Johnson County Special Utility District is pursuing grant funding for infrastructure improvements in the city. Pathway Com-Tel and AT&T are working on telecom infrastructure expansions and improvements in the city.
Over the last several years the Joshua City Council and staff have opened a beautiful new park, the city's first. Construction is wrapping up on our new fire station. A year ago we got a new fire engine capable of more efficient fire suppression. We now have a full-time paid fire chief that has made a multitude of improvements to the department and reduced response times in the city. Our police department has received numerous improvements to vehicles and equipment that all result in greater public safety and the safety of our officers. For those who still insist that Joshua is just a speed trap you'll be surprised learn that we issued over a thousand more traffic warnings than tickets this year so far. That's because it's about safety, not revenue. In an effort to reach out and connect with the community our Citizens Police Academy is about to enter its fourth year and 2013 will bring our first Citizens Fire Academy. We have a brand new Brookshire's grocery store set to open in about 4 months and construction will start on our new YMCA recreation center around the same time. The city council is actively engaged with a research group at UTA to develop a beautification project for Highway 174 and just a few days ago we learned that due to conservative fiscal diligence Standard & Poor's has upgraded the city's bond rating from A to A+.
The list goes on and on so before you take the actions of one person and associate my entire city with it remember that individuals will always make bad decisions from time to time, but over last many years a collective in the City of Joshua has made a lot more good decisions.
A.J.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Thank you, President Obama.
November 6, 2012. Election Day. Today I am reminded of the significant changes in my life over the last four years. I can honestly say I am better off today than I was four years ago. Not in the typical political and economic measures of this life, but I find value in greater things.
In 2008 as the primaries unfolded I remember being dumbfounded that Barack Obama emerged as the Democratic nominee. It was beyond comprehension to me. Everything I despise about his ideology and policy was on his sleeve for the world to see and yet millions found it invisible or embraced it. As he became the President of the United States something stirred in me.
It was months later after the sting of the election began to fade to the dull pain that would persist for four years that I was awakened. The call came in. "Get involved", He said. "Make a difference. Don't be a silent bystander anymore. Be part of the decision making process." I know my wife was as surprised as I was when I said "I'm going to run for city council."
The rest as they say is history, but today after having the elation and anxiety of casting ballots for myself three times in the last four years I will cast my most anticipated ballot of my life. I know I'm not alone either. I've watched with wonder over the last fours years larger and larger groups of patriots not follow the typical American way of short memory and loss of attention, but instead focus and hard work towards a solution to a problem. Today is not the culmination, but the beginning.
I'm thankful for the change in my life that I can be a part of finding solutions to problems in the world around us, small as they may be in the grand scheme of things. I pray that I can inspire people around me to get involved too. I pray that I can restore honor to elected office in general. And I pray that I will reach as many people as possible with the Good News of redemption found only through Jesus Christ.
God Bless America.
A.J.
In 2008 as the primaries unfolded I remember being dumbfounded that Barack Obama emerged as the Democratic nominee. It was beyond comprehension to me. Everything I despise about his ideology and policy was on his sleeve for the world to see and yet millions found it invisible or embraced it. As he became the President of the United States something stirred in me.
It was months later after the sting of the election began to fade to the dull pain that would persist for four years that I was awakened. The call came in. "Get involved", He said. "Make a difference. Don't be a silent bystander anymore. Be part of the decision making process." I know my wife was as surprised as I was when I said "I'm going to run for city council."
The rest as they say is history, but today after having the elation and anxiety of casting ballots for myself three times in the last four years I will cast my most anticipated ballot of my life. I know I'm not alone either. I've watched with wonder over the last fours years larger and larger groups of patriots not follow the typical American way of short memory and loss of attention, but instead focus and hard work towards a solution to a problem. Today is not the culmination, but the beginning.
I'm thankful for the change in my life that I can be a part of finding solutions to problems in the world around us, small as they may be in the grand scheme of things. I pray that I can inspire people around me to get involved too. I pray that I can restore honor to elected office in general. And I pray that I will reach as many people as possible with the Good News of redemption found only through Jesus Christ.
God Bless America.
A.J.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
The hypocrisy of liberal tax and charity
They're really never satisfied. I've asked liberals before exactly how much would be one's "fair share"? I've never received an answer. The fact is they're afraid to say what they're really thinking and that is that everyone would have the same amount of money and get equal services forever. Ultimately they want the entirety of everybody's income to go to the government and then have all our needs met equally. That's been tried before, but they'd like to try it again without actually calling it communism.
Our current progressive tax system is by very nature and definition unfair. The more you make (in regular income) the more you pay. This is true in two respects. First by percentages. 20% of $1,000,000 is more than 20% of $100,000. The person making one million dollars would be paying more than someone making less than that. The left says that's not fair though. The second way higher earners pay more is by having their percentage go up with the more they make. So the person making that million dollars is taxed at 35% now. Is that fair yet? No, of course not, they say. So by definition being "free from bias" making higher earners pay more and still calling it unfair I guess the left must have a dictionary version I've not had access to. Now that's unfair. Dare ye high-income earners follow the law and pay the current capital gains rate they'll surely be skewered in the press. I guess we'll have to come up with a progressive capital gains structure to make it "fair". By the way, if you're lost already with all this math and logic don't forget to vote on November 7th!
Enter the charity debate for the presidential race. Earlier this year Michael Scherer from Time put his calculator to work and crunched the numbers on the candidates for an article. The 2011 tax figures had not been released yet, but Mr. Scherer concluded that for 2010 President Obama and Mitt Romney were equal with 14% of their gross income having gone to charity. Really? Percentages made them equal? He points out that Romney's nearly $3 million is certainly higher than Obama's $245 thousand, but lets not get mired down in the details, 14% is 14%! Unless of course you're talking about the income tax side and then it would have again been unfair.
Later in the article things get even more tricky since apparently we now consider our legal tax burden somehow on par with charitable giving so it's OK to combine charity and taxes for a total percentage of money that you won't be able to spend on cigarettes and DIRECTV.
To recap, flat tax = unfair, flat charitable giving = fair.
It's a real shame that the standard narrative of the Democrat Party that Obama is a saintly philanthropist of care for the common people and Romney is an evil rich guy doesn't fit with reality, but that won't stand in their way. Oh and by the way, there is a national economy that needs saving and a few million people that would actually like to have a job. How about we get on with that discussion.
A.J.
Our current progressive tax system is by very nature and definition unfair. The more you make (in regular income) the more you pay. This is true in two respects. First by percentages. 20% of $1,000,000 is more than 20% of $100,000. The person making one million dollars would be paying more than someone making less than that. The left says that's not fair though. The second way higher earners pay more is by having their percentage go up with the more they make. So the person making that million dollars is taxed at 35% now. Is that fair yet? No, of course not, they say. So by definition being "free from bias" making higher earners pay more and still calling it unfair I guess the left must have a dictionary version I've not had access to. Now that's unfair. Dare ye high-income earners follow the law and pay the current capital gains rate they'll surely be skewered in the press. I guess we'll have to come up with a progressive capital gains structure to make it "fair". By the way, if you're lost already with all this math and logic don't forget to vote on November 7th!
Enter the charity debate for the presidential race. Earlier this year Michael Scherer from Time put his calculator to work and crunched the numbers on the candidates for an article. The 2011 tax figures had not been released yet, but Mr. Scherer concluded that for 2010 President Obama and Mitt Romney were equal with 14% of their gross income having gone to charity. Really? Percentages made them equal? He points out that Romney's nearly $3 million is certainly higher than Obama's $245 thousand, but lets not get mired down in the details, 14% is 14%! Unless of course you're talking about the income tax side and then it would have again been unfair.
Later in the article things get even more tricky since apparently we now consider our legal tax burden somehow on par with charitable giving so it's OK to combine charity and taxes for a total percentage of money that you won't be able to spend on cigarettes and DIRECTV.
To recap, flat tax = unfair, flat charitable giving = fair.
It's a real shame that the standard narrative of the Democrat Party that Obama is a saintly philanthropist of care for the common people and Romney is an evil rich guy doesn't fit with reality, but that won't stand in their way. Oh and by the way, there is a national economy that needs saving and a few million people that would actually like to have a job. How about we get on with that discussion.
A.J.
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