Kevin DeWine was unanimously elected to the chairmanship of the Ohio Republican Party at a party meeting outside Columbus Friday.
Every man woman and child in these United States of America owes $31,641 to the national debt. The interest alone is over $430 BILLION ( $1400 a piece ) with the national debt approx. 9.6 TRILLION and rising. No nation in the history of mankind is in as much debt as ours. Our children and grand children and possibly their children will have us to thank for that.
Famous economist Murray Rothbard, Henry Hazlitt and more recently, President of The von Mises Institue of Austrian Economics Lew Rockwell, understand inflating the nations currency (the dollar) makes our money worth less and less. Many don’t understand the Federal Reserve, or even realize their is nothing “federal” about it. The FED along with Congress, seem to be in love with famous British socialist John Maynard Keynes, who wrote a book in 1920 explaining whats happening to our wealth. Keynes said “by a continuous process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and unobserved, an important part of the wealth of their citizens.” You can do something about it though.
Come and watch the documentary “Dollars and $ense” with other liberty minded people Thursday, January 29th @ 7pm in the downstairs meeting room at the Xenia Library. The meeting will last approximately 1hr.
Posted in economy, events, politics, Xenia
Tagged central banks, change, Congress, monetary policy, national debt
Xenia is the host city once more for this year’s Project Rock band playoffs at The Cavern, the all-ages music venue in the basement of Express Yourself Coffeehouse & Art Gallery downtown. And a new contest has joined Project Rock in it’s third year: Project Rap will offer three rounds of head to head competition for the Hip-Hop and Rap audience Project Rock and Project Rap are vehicles for young musicians in the Dayton/Xenia area to perform in front of live audiences, to develop creative and original new music, and to learn the difficult challenges and great rewards that surround live music. The first Project Rock show is slated for January 16 and will continue weekends through early June. The schedule of bands for both competitions is available online at ExpressYourselfCoffeehouse.com
Friends, relatives, and fans alike enjoy the festive atmosphere on weekend evenings from January through early June as the bands compete for weekly bragging rights. As the first few bands are eliminated, the true musical and organizational skills of these young musicians begins to become apparent. Almost anyone can get the family and friends to come out to hear them play once or twice, but it takes real talent and enthusiasm, as well as some marketing savvy, to keep their audiences enthusiastic and growing.
In order to test the abilities of the bands, different challenges are presented at each level of the competition. For instance, in the second round each band must perform a classic rock (or rap) song in their own style and for the final show, each of the top bands or rappers must write and perform a totally new song which has never been performed in public before. Project Rock and Project Rap strive to be more than mere popularity contests, so a full panel of judges reviews each performance for professionalism, musicianship, audience interaction and originality and awards points accordingly. In the end, Project Rock has turned several green young bands into seasoned professionals by the end of the series.
The 2007 Project Rock winners were local Xenia indie rockers, Psylis, and the 2008 winner was Lebanon’s heavy metal rockers, Last Dead Hour. A top prize of $500 in cash and enough studio time to record three complete songs made the competition fierce and interesting in previous years. Sponsorships are still available for businesses interested in reaching the key 15-30 year old demographic. This year, Black Disco Ball Studio is a major sponsor and will offer studio time to the Project Rock finalists. Local Rap management company Hidden Talent Records is the major sponsor of Project Rap and is seeking contestants and sponsors for the first year’s competition which begins in February. The Cavern is located at 78 E. Main St. in downtown Xenia. For more information about either competition or to make sponsorship offers, contact Alan King at (937) 372-7446, email: xeniacoffee@sbcglobal.net or visit ExpressYourselfCoffeehouse.com or MySpace.com/TheCavernClub
Last Thursday, Nathan Chrisman, Director of The Cleft, presented a vision for a youth center to the the Xenia Area Merchants Association. The Cleft is an outreach center for youth. It is intended to provide opportunities for students to grow as individuals and community members. When completed, the facility on South Detroit Street will offer tutoring, counseling, mentorship, and opportunities for community service. Currently, the organization has a community service program running at Xenia High School, and also offers assembly programs on issues facing teens, such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence, and depression. It is not owned or run by AHOP as many people believe, but is run independently by Mr. Chrisman and one other staff member and many volunteers. Financial sponsorship comes from numerous churches, businesses, and community members. Additional financial support is needed to complete renovations and pay for operating expenses. To donate, or for additional information, call 937-671-4060 or visit www.thecleft.org.
Posted in education, news, Xenia
Tagged Community Service, Xenia Area Merchants Association, Youth, Youth Center
Today, I was not absent in body but I was also there in mind and spirit. Some might say I was not all there are usual. Nevertheless, Pastor John preached on that wonderfully depressing book entitled “Ecclesiastes.” You know the one that says your life is meaningless dust and all of your accomplishments are insignificant chaff in the wind. Fortunately, Pastor John is a very good communicator of God’s word, which means his message was great and his punch line superb. My meager attempt to summarize his message is this: If nature reclaims everything, what’s the point of all of the stuff accumulated over the years? What’s the point of all the hard work and the grand or not so grand accomplishments? Most likely all of it will return to dust and be forgotten. His superb punch line goes something like this: Stuff is temporal but people are forever. A good meaningful life now and for eternity is achieved only through the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. In other words, a life of endless enjoyment first experienced by Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden will one day be restored by Jesus Christ. That is the counter-point to the bleak reality portrayed in Ecclesiastes. (By the way, the garden may be located in Jerusalem.)
Although Pastor John’s message on Ecclesiastes was certainly inspiring, I think I will avoid delving into the dark mental space of the wise son of King David. Instead, I want to continue with last week’s discussion about the often confusing and image rich book of Revelation.
John, who wrote down this prophetic panorama of our future, was only one of at least seven persons who collaborated on the publication of Revelation. God was the primary source and Jesus was the divine intermediary showing John what would occur in human history. There were others. For example, Jesus’ angel, other angels, and ruling elders assisted Jesus in showing what God wants all of us to know and understand.
One of the things God’s want us all to comprehend is the benefits of this prophecy. Unlike many books of the Bible, there are specifically stated benefits in reading, hearing, remembering, doing, and living the content of God’s revelation through Jesus the Messiah. John states it this way:
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things that are written in it; for the time is near. (Rev. 1:3)
As mentioned last week, the time is near but how near is a matter of perspective. One day is as a thousand year and a thousand years is as one day to God. Adding to this perspective is the phrase often used by Jesus during his earthly ministry: The kingdom of God is at hand (or near). The eternal kingdom of God is as near as the ever present Spirit of God, and yet it seems too many that God is usually remote. Jesus, however, meant that because those who saw and heard what God had specially directed him to say and do they were also under a directive of God whose presence and rule had approached them. Also implied was the promise of God’s coming reign over Israel and world was approaching. It was time for its fulfillment. Like the Jews during Jesus earthly days, all of us are confronted by the revelation of Jesus with a decision whether to enter the kingdom rule of God and His Son Jesus. As the Psalmist sang,
The rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and against His
Anointed, saying, “Let us tear their
fetters apart and cast away there
bands from us!”
The Lord scoffs at them, saying,
“But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My Holy mountain.”
[And to His King,] You are My Son,
Today I have begotten you.”
Now therefore, worship the Lord with
reverence and … do homage to the Son….
(Ps. 2:2-4, 6, 7, 12)
In other words, the kingdom is still at hand and the time is even nearer than before. In order to benefit from entering God’s kingdom now under the lordship of Jesus, you must first know the laws of the kingdom, maintain good relations with the King, and continue doing God’s will, but I’m getting ahead of the subject at hand.
The benefits promised to those who read, hear, heed the words of Revelation are unique. You will find them listed in the messages to the 7 churches, in the rewards for overcoming mentioned in 6: 9-17; 7:9-8:5 (and beyond); 14:12-17; 20:4; 20:11-15; and 21-22. The key to overcoming is seen in chapter 12 and verse 11, which states:
They overcame … because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their love their loves even when faced with death.
In the Bible, blessed does not necessarily mean everything will be hunky dory. In the Sermon on the Mount, happy and blessed are synonyms for the same Greek word. (Mat. 5-7) Yet happy and blessed does not necessary mean happy, prosperous, tranquil, or life without problems. In most cases, blessed means the state of a right relationship with God in the present through past obedience to His laws and justice that will ultimate lead to future good including love, peace, joy, righteousness, wholeness, and prosperity for all eternity. Momentary pain, problems, or lack does not reflect on the present state of blessedness in the kingdom of Christ and God. This is even clearer in Luke’s gospel (6:20-46).
Some other scriptures that help clarify the meaning of the blessed life are Lk. 12:43; Jas. 1:12; Mat. 16:17; Rom. 4:8; Rev. 16:15. In these verses, we find a slave will be blessed (and not condemned) when his master returns from a trip and finds him doing what the master wanted. According to James, blessed is every man who perseveres under trial. Such trials prove one’s faith. Once approved, that man will receive the crown of life as promised by the Lord. A person is blessed while going through struggles with overcoming as the end goal. Remaining faithful to God is what overcoming means.
There are other aspects of the blessed state. For example, Paul declared a man blessed whose sins (moral crimes) are not held against him (Rom. 4:8). James also taught that the man who lives according to the perfect law of liberty of God is blessed (Jas.1:25). Simon Peter was blessed because God had revealed to him that Jesus was His Son, the Anointed One (Mat. 16:17). God wants the same for all people.
Here is a real puzzle: “Behold, I am coming like a thief in the night. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and others see his or her shame.” (Rev. 16:15)
Does this mean we must always go to bed with our clothes on lest Jesus returns and everyone see us naked? I think this refers to what Paul taught us and that was to put on the likeness of Christ like a garment. (Rom. 13:14; Eph. 4:20-24; Col. 3:10). This is the white garment mentioned in Revelation.
So, how do we obtain the benefits promised in Revelation?
In the January 2009 issue of World Congress of Families News, the World Congress of Families has released a list of the “Best And Worst Developments Affecting The Family In 2008”
Worldwide the most encouraging pro-family trends are:
1. Sarah Palin, Pro-life Woman Is Vice Presidential Nominee
2. Vatican Panel Issues Instructions on Bioethics
3. Lithuania Bill Would Protect Minors From Homosexual Agitation
4. Honduran Family-Perspective Law
5. Proposition 8 Passes In California
6. Greater Awareness of Demographic Winter
7. UN Study Links Abstinence and Delayed Rates of AIDS/HIV in Africa
8. British Psychiatrists’ Group Says Abortion Can Cause Mental Problems
9. Family Advocate Becomes Senior Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister
10. Anti-Human Trafficking Law Passed
And the most troubling trends for the family are:
1. The Election of Barack Obama
2. Mexican Supreme Court Backs Mexico City Abortion Law
3. Luxembourg and Washington State Legalize Assisted Suicide
4. German Persecution of Home-Schooling Families
5. OAS Passes ‘Sexual-Orientation” Resolution
6. Brazilian President Calls Opposition to Homosexuality A “Perverse Disease”
7. UNFPA Nigeria meeting Pushes Abortion In The Guise of Women’s Health
8. In France, Most Births Out-of-Wedlock
9. Australian Prof. Proposes Baby Tax
10. Queen’s Representative In Canada Celebrates Androgyny
Go to www.worldcongress.org for an explanation of “The Best And Worst Developments Affecting The Family In 2008.”
By James W. Percival
City Manager
Xenia, Ohio
As everyone is aware the national economy is not doing well, and the local and regional economy have experienced some major troubles in the past few months. The DHL closing in Wilmington and the closing of the Truck and Bus Plant in Moraine have received tremendous coverage in not just the local, but the national media. We are blessed in the City of Xenia to have a very diverse economy. One major component of the Xenia economy is the Service Industry. This helps to
provide a strong base and maintain the stability of the economy here in Xenia. We are also blessed to have a strong industrial and manufacturing base here in town. We have many small and midsized
businesses in Xenia that provide quality employment opportunities to our Citizens.
Next year we will also see the beginning of the Cornerstone Research project that promises to provide many opportunities to our Citizens. We, as a Community, need to continue to support our local businesses and industrial Citizens to help them provide a base for our local economy.
Many times in the past our Community has faced economic hardships. Our predecessors have worked through difficult times and our community has always risen to the occasion and come through with flying colors; the current issues that we face will not be different.
We have seen many positive enhancements to our community in the past year. The business and property owners in the downtown have ALL improved their buildings this past year. I cannot count the number of times in the past few months people have stopped me to express their appreciation for the improvement in the downtown. We thank all of the folks that helped in this effort. The City of Xenia could not make the improvements—this was a true partnership. To continue this partnership into the coming year, the City will be offering a Façade loan program that will provide resources to those property owners in the downtown area that would like to improve their buildings. This effort will help continue the momentum that has been created. The City is also continuing with the streetscape enhancement program that is adding to the attractiveness of the town.
The Community Development Department has helped to administer the CHIP program in the past year. Through this program we have been able to provide resources to homeowners in town that without this assistance would not have been able to improve their properties.
The Community Development Department has helped to administer the CHIP program in the past year. Through this program we have been able to provide resources to homeowners in town that without this assistance would not have been able to improve their properties. Hopefully next year, there will be additional resources available for homeowners so that we can continue to improve our neighborhoods. As a City we will continue to pursue these resources from the State and Federal Governments to aid our local residents.
Our Public Service Department has faced significant challenges in the past year brought on by Mother Nature. In March we had to deal with a Blizzard, in the spring our employees at the Water and Wastewater plants were dealing with significant rain events that taxed the capacity of our treatment plants, and this past September we all dealt with the effects of the wind storm. Through it all these employees provided the best service that we could under the circumstances. Many times Citizens complimented the City based on how efficiently we were able to remove the debris from the streets and sidewalks. This past year we also made significant improvements to Shawnee and Spring Hill Parks. Next year we are going to finish replacing the retaining wall around the pond at Shawnee Park. This project has been needed for quite some time and should stabilize the area around the pavilion. This park is one of the Jewels of our community and we need to make sure that all of our Citizens can enjoy the park for generations to come.
In the past year our Safety Departments have continued to provide a great service to the Community. The members of our Police and Fire Divisions do not always have the easiest duties to perform, but they are professional and do everything they can to keep Xenia a safe and healthy community in which to live, work, and raise a family. The members of these departments are on the job 24 hours a day to insure that we as Citizens can enjoy our City and our neighborhoods to the highest extent.
Our Finance Department has continued to insure that we maintain the highest level of fiscal integrity as we expend the tax-payer dollars. This past year our Finance Office was awarded the Government Finance Officers’ Association (GFOA) award of distinction for financial reporting for the twenty-fifth straight year. This dedicated group of individuals continuously works to improve the business side of the City of Xenia operations.
The City of Xenia Law Department has also had a very good year. Our Law Director and his staff are constantly reviewing contracts and other documents to make sure that we as a City are in the best possible legal position. The legal staff has also worked to update many ordinances of the City of Xenia, to bring them into compliance with State Law, or simply to update them based on current situations.
As we look forward to next year, we realize that there may be some difficult times ahead. As your City Staff, we will continue to provide the highest level of service possible so that each of our Citizens can enjoy the wonderful things we have to offer here in Xenia. Working with our current businesses and new businesses, we will continue to pursue every opportunity to create new and better jobs here in town so that we can increase employment and other opportunities for our
Citizens. We will continue to work in both the downtown and in all areas of the Community to improve the aesthetics of the community. Next year we will, with the help of State Grants, continue to pave the Jamestown Connector, thereby creating a new recreational opportunity for our Citizens and for all Citizens in Greene County.
Finally I would like to thank the Mayor Phyllis Pennewitt and our City Council: President Pat Felton, Vice President Jeanne Mills, and Councilmen John Caupp, Dale Louderback, Bill Miller and Dennis Propes. This group dedicates countless hours to the Community. While they do not all always agree on each item, they are all dedicated to the improvement of our Community and our Citizens, and we are indebted to them for what they do to improve our community!
Posted in government services, news, politics, Xenia
On Thursday January 8 at 8AM, Xenia Area Merchants will meet at Express Yourself Coffeehouse located at 78 E. Main Street.
The Xenia Area Merchants’ Association is a group of local business people united to preserve and promote the city of Xenia as a destination location for local consumers. If you own or operate a small business in or around Xenia, we encourage your participation.
Contact XAMA for additional information.
By John Mitchel
RE: “Hobson always put jobs first during 18-year tenure,” by Sherrod Brown, Dayton Daily News, December 27, 2008. U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown for as long as I can remember was a voice from the wilderness that spoke the truth on the North American Free Trade Agreement. He even had the courage of conviction to disagree on the issue with fellow Democrat Bill Clinton. But now that Brown and other NAFTA opponents are proven right by the “giant sucking sound” of jobs gone offshore, I’m disappointed he would try to rehabilitate the tarnished image of lame-duck Congressman, Dave Hobson. For Senator Brown to deal in glowing absolutes on Hobson’s pitiful record on job growth in the 7th Congressional District is unbecoming to the junior Senator from Ohio.
However Hobson has improved the job prospects for one sector of our economy, namely his special interest campaign contributors. Take for example his advocacy in steering $1.9 million in un-bid, taxpayer funded contracts toward the Dayton Development Coalition (DDC) which in turn noncompetitively awarded much of the work to The Greentree Group, a Beavercreek support contractor and Paul Magliochetti and Associates (PMA Group), a Washington lobbyist. Federal Election Commission records show that Greentree, PMA and DDC employees donated tens of thousands of dollars to “Hobson for Congress” before, during and after the 2003 sweetheart deal between Greene County Republicans and the DDC. It’s tragic that Senator Brown would offer a parting platitude to a politician who was part of the problem instead of one who recognized a failed policy and acted to correct it.
The following is an excerpt of a letter sent by General Motor’s CEO to employers and parts suppliers, which is followed by a response from an Ohio manufacturer.
Dear Employees & Suppliers,
Congress and the current Administration will soon determine whether to provide immediate support to the domestic auto industry to help it through one of the most difficult economic times in our nation’s history. Your elected officials must hear from all of us now on why this support is critical to our continuing the progress we began prior to the global financial crisis. As an employee or supplier, you have a lot at stake and continue to be one of our most effective and passionate voices. I know GM can count on you to have your voice heard.
Thank you for your urgent action and ongoing support.
Troy Clarke
President General Motors North America
The following response is from Gregory Knox, President of Knox Machinery Company located in Franklin, Ohio.
Gentlemen:
In response to your request to contact legislators and ask for a bailout for the Big Three automakers please consider the following, and please pass my thoughts on to Troy Clark, President of General Motors North America.
Politicians and Management of the Big 3 are both infected with the same entitlement mentality that has spread like cancerous germs in UAW halls for the last countless decades, and whose plague is now sweeping this nation, awaiting our new “messiah”, Pres-elect Obama, to wave his magic wand and make all our problems go away, while at the same time allowing our once great nation to keep “living the dream”… Believe me folks, The dream is over!
This dream where we can ignore the consumer for years while management myopically focuses on its personal rewards packages at the same time that our factories have been filled with the worlds most overpaid, arrogant, ignorant and laziest entitlement minded “laborers” without paying the price for these atrocities…this dream where you still think the masses will line up to buy our products for ever and ever.
Don’t even think about telling me I’m wrong. Don’t accuse me of not knowing of what I speak. I have called on Ford, GM, Chrysler, TRW, Delphi, Kelsey Hayes, American Axle and countless other automotive OEM’s throughout the Midwest during the past 30 years and what I’ve seen over those years in these union shops can only be described as disgusting.
Troy Clarke, President of General Motors North America, states: “There is widespread sentiment throughout this country, and our government, and especially via the news media, that the current crisis is completely the result of bad management which it certainly is not.”
You’re right Mr. Clarke, it’s not JUST management…how about the electricians who walk around the plants like lords in feudal times, making people wait on them for countless hours while they drag ass…so they can come in on the weekend and make double and triple time…for a job they easily could have done within their normal 40 hour work week. How about the line workers who threaten newbies with all kinds of scare tactics…for putting out too many parts on a shift…and for being too productive.
(We certainly must not expose those lazy bums who have been getting overpaid for decades for their horrific underproduction, must we?!?)
Do you folks really not know about this stuff?!? How about this great sentiment abridged from Mr. Clarke’s sad plea: “over the last few years …we have closed the quality and efficiency gaps with our competitors.” What the hell has Detroit been doing for the last 40 years?!? Did we really JUST wake up to the gaps in quality and efficiency between us and them? The K car vs. the Accord? The Pinto vs. the Civic?!? Do I need to go on? What a joke!
We are living through the inevitable outcome of the actions of the United States auto industry for decades. It’s time to pay for your sins, Detroit.
I attended an economic summit last week where brilliant economist, Alan Beaulieu, from the Institute of Trend Research, surprised the crowd when he said he would not have given the banks a penny of “bailout money”. “Yes, he said, this would cause short term problems,” but despite what people like politicians and corporate magnates would have us believe, the sun would in fact rise the next day… and the following very important thing would happen…where there had been greedy and sloppy banks, new efficient ones would pop up…that is how a free market system works…it does work…if we would only let it work…”
But for some nondescript reason we are now deciding that the rest of the world is rig ht and that capitalism doesn’t work – that we need the government to step in and “save us”…Save us my ass, Hell – we’re nationalizing…and unfortunately too many of our once fine nation’s citizens don’t even have a clue that this is what is really happening…But, they sure can tell you the stats on their favorite sports teams…yeah – THAT’S really important, isn’t it…
Does it ever occur to ANYONE that the “competition” has been producing vehicles, EXTREMELY PROFITABLY, for decades in this country?… How can that be??? Let ‘s see… Fuel efficient… Listening to customers… Investing in the proper tooling and automation for the long haul…
Not being too complacent or arrogant to listen to Dr. W. Edwards Deming four decades ago when he taught that by adopting appropriate principles of management, organizations could increase quality and simultaneously reduce costs. Ever increased productivity through quality and intelligent planning… Treating vendors like strategic partners, rather than like “the enemy”… Efficient front and back offices… Non union environment…
Again, I could go on and on, but I really wouldn’t be telling anyone anything they really don’t already know down deep in their hearts.
I have six children, so I am not unfamiliar with the concept of wanting someone to bail you out of a mess that you have gotten yourself into – my children do this on a weekly, if not daily basis, as I did when I was their age. I do for them what my parents did for me (one of their greatest gifts, by the way) – I make them stand on their own two feet and accept the consequences of their actions and work through it. Radical concept, huh… Am I there for them in the wings? Of course – but only until such time as they need to be fully on their own as adults.
I don’t want to oversimplify a complex situation, but there certainly are unmistakable parallels here between the proper role of parenting and government. Detroit and the United States need to pay for their sins. Bad news people – it’s coming whether we like it or not. The newly elected Messiah really doesn’t have a magic wand big enough to “make it all go away.” I laughed as I heard Obama “reeling it back in” almost immediately after the final vote count was tallied…”we really might not do it in a year…or in four…” Where the Hell was that kind of talk when he was RUNNING for office.
Stop trying to put off the inevitable folks … That house in Florida really isn’t worth $750,000… People who jump across a border really don’t deserve free health care benefits… That job driving that forklift for the Big 3 really isn’t worth $85,000 a year… We really shouldn’t allow Wal-Mart to stock their shelves with products acquired from a country that unfairly manipulates their currency and has the most atrocious human rights infractions on the face of the globe…
That couple whose combined income is less than $50,000 really shouldn’t be living in that $485,000 home… Let the market correct itself folks – it will. Yes it will be painful, but it’s gonna’ be painful either way, and the bright side of my proposal is that on the other side of it all, is a nation that appreciates what it has…and doesn’t live beyond its means…and gets back to basics…and redevelops the patriotic work ethic that made it the greatest nation in the history of the world…and probably turns back to God.
Sorry – don’t cut my head off, I’m just the messenger sharing with you the “bad news”. I hope you take it to heart.
Gregory J. Knox, President
Knox Machinery, Inc.
Franklin, Ohio 45005
Thanks Gregory Knox for your zealous and honest love for America and the ideals that worked until bureaucrats and narcissistic special interest agendas screwed it up.
Posted in economy, events, news, politics
Tagged automakers, economic freedom and responisbility, financial bail-out, management, manufacturers, messiah Obama
