No Christmas Cheer at Mark Pi's

No Christmas Cheer at Mark Pi’s

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

December 27, 2012

To enter the service and culinary gates of hell, visit Mark Pi’s China Gate and Sushi Bar on North Meridian Street in Carmel.

Surly to bed and surly to rise should be the philosophy of the management and wait staff at Mark Pi’s who did themselves a disservice by remaining open on Christmas.

For openers, there was the waitress who at first appeared to want to take our order, but while we briefly deliberated over a particular menu item, turned and walked away not to return for several  minutes. On her next attempt at taking our order she directed her attention to a neighboring table. When asked if she was planning on taking our order, she snapped that she was busy and seemed irritated that we dared to bother her.

Several minutes later the waitress brought me my Miso soup, slamming it down on the table to the shock of the four of us, and with such force that enough soup flew out of the bowl to fill the bottom of the saucer. She also forcefully dropped the four empty plates on the table as though they were radioactive.

Clearly by the look on my face the waitress knew she was in the wrong, took my soup away, and brought back a fresh one that remained in the bowl along with an apology.

Next up were the Spring Rolls – six on a plate, each roughly the size of a wine bottle neck. Tasteless and greasy at best; devoid of any nutritional value.

Bring on the entrees, bring on the spice. I ordered the Classic Hunan which as advertised is spicy hot, but as food is supposedly made to order, I specifically requested non-spicy. One bite and I was reminded of a Bobby Slayton stand-up bit eating spicy Chinese – “head on fire!” More chili peppers than a Santa Fe ranch. Back it goes. Second attempt was better, but there should not have been a need for a second attempt if the server was doing her job and looking at the actual plate prior to serving it.

Then there was the Pad Thai – or should I say the Pad the bill Thai. Two orders of Pad Thai proving that all dishes are not created equally. Both were ordered with chicken (at an additional charge, no less) and while one was appropriately prepared, the other may have had two minute pieces of something resembling poultry. Back it went, this time with an exasperated waitress. Clearly, sifting through the dish, it was painfully obvious that the restaurant was trying to rip us off.

But adding to the culinary cacophony was the speed by which the waitress brought the bill – two of us were barely halfway through our entrees and she made us feel a part of the Indy 500. The four of us agreed we had not felt this rushed in ages.

And adding insult to injury was the insolent attitude of the manager who couldn’t be less patient listening to our legitimate concerns – concerns that when addressed properly would make future patrons’ visits more enjoyable than ours. This manager, said his last name was Wang, claimed not to have fielded a complaint in his 30-plus years in the restaurant business – a virtual impossibility.

Needless to say, a fine time was not had by all as this was the first and last visit to Mark Pi’s in Carmel. I am happy to furnish a copy of this review to their corporate office in Columbus, OH.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. He has enjoyed fine Chinese cuisine and service in New York City’s Chinatown, NJ, Washington, DC and Chicago among other locales.

Of G-d and Guns

Of G-d and Guns

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

December 17, 2012

If there has been one constant amidst the hellish carnage and horror that not just befell Newtown, CT but shook the nation to its very core, it has been a clarion call for prayer.

From the teachers in Sandy Hook Elementary School and the survivors – student and staff alike who were interviewed, to politicians all the way to the White House and Barack Obama himself, “thoughts and prayers” were offered repeatedly and liberally.

Synagogue and church services across the nation, even athletic events from high school to the professional level, called for prayers and moments of silence for reflection – that was the immediate gut reaction – it is natural and it is normal. There can’t be too much prayer.

Even jaded newscasters repeatedly said “our thoughts and prayers” are with the victims’ families (unless it was reflexive lip service – yes, I can also be just as jaded).

Obama’s first words in addressing an assembly in Newtown on Sunday night were, “scripture tells us…,” later adding, “I come to offer the love and prayers of a nation.” Obama approached his conclusion with, “G-d has called them all home,” in reference to the 20 children as well as the six teachers and administrators who were senselessly massacred on Friday, December 14 by a piece of detritus whose name only deserves to be cursed for all eternity.

Yet, for all the synagogue and church services, the words of prayer, the quotes from scripture, the moments of silence, it begs the question of why we the people are not preemptively praying to begin with? How far has this nation sunk into the quagmire of moral decay and vituperativeness that prayer and the word of G-d are to be shunned, even mocked and ridiculed?

The constant barrage of attacks on religion in general, and this time of the year on Christmas, specifically demonstrates people’s lack of knowledge of the first 16 words of the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

“…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” stand out most for me. Part of the moral decline of American society commenced with the removal of G-d from the classrooms – eliminating prayer in school, the removal of the 10 Commandments, the cessation of reciting the Pledge of Allegiance as well as the ability of a school to actually mete out real discipline.

“…or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…” which allows for prayer in school – which admittedly should be optional for those Atheists who object, but not to have prayer eliminated because of the small number of said Atheists who object. A non-sectarian prayer that mentions G-d, but not Jesus; for although Christians are the majority faith in the US, not all students believe in Jesus, but the major religions do believe in G-d. After all the Declaration of Independence says we are endowed by our Creator.

Daily prayer recited in school when my parents, both of Blessed memory, grew up in New Jersey – the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) – did not turn them from observant Jews into Christians. As an observant Jew myself, I support prayer in school. If a student wants to pray in class before an exam or in the cafeteria before or after eating lunch, as long as it doesn’t interfere with anyone else’s beliefs, they should be allowed to do so without penalty. The same support is offered for having a member of the local clergy offer a benediction at a graduation ceremony.

More G-d in people’s lives, especially in school, and fewer condoms in school would be a good start to reversing the trend of a godless moral decay.

With unfettered abortion on demand to the point where your daughter can be suspended from school for carrying and taking an aspirin, yet can get the surgical procedure to murder her unborn child without parental permission or even notification, life is sadly devalued. When life is devalued, it becomes easier to eliminate it.

This same devaluation of life is fervently visible in the motion pictures and video games created for mindless entertainment. Here too, when people, especially young people are exposed to the countless hours of such violent stimulation, they become desensitized – often to the point where fact and fiction become blurred and real news stories of, say, the tragedy in Newtown seem unreal or fictionalized. There becomes a point where those exposed to such stimuli become numb and lose their ability to empathize with a given situation.

Couple that with the gun culture that has manifested itself in American society. Make no mistake, I fervently support the Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights and believe that were an armed teacher, administrator, or security guard present at Sandy Hook Elementary School on that fateful Friday, the death toll would have been lessened.

And while there is a negative connotation to a gun culture – the ease of obtaining a firearm, the glorification of gun violence on television and the aforementioned entertainment genres of film and video games, a better armed society would be a safer society.

Responsible gun owners are typically the targets of government, really as the unintended consequences of legislation where gun control laws come into play, when the targets should be the criminals who will go to any lengths to procure firearms for their nefarious plans. Additional gun legislation is not needed when there are literally hundreds of laws already being violated daily by miscreants who shoot their way into schools and slaughter 26 people, or shoot up a movie theater killing a dozen innocent movie watchers, as occurred in Aurora, CO on July 12 of this year. Perhaps if another theater patron was armed, lives could have been saved.

Just as the answer to hate speech is not less, but more speech; the way to combat gun violence against innocent people is not by stripping them of their ability to defend themselves, but to enable them to not only defend themselves, but others as well. If more law abiding, responsible gun owners possessed conceal carry permits, it is less likely lunatics would shoot up schools or other venues. It was reported that when the murderer of 26 innocents at Sandy Hook was about to be confronted by law enforcement, the coward took his own life. Were there an armed guard on duty at the school lives would have been saved as the school already had its doors locked and the killer had to shoot his way into the building.

All schools – suburban, rural, inner city, public, parochial, charter – should have cameras positioned at all entrances and monitored in the main office, as well as metal detectors, armed security personnel, a strict sign-in/out policy for all visitors – whether UPS deliverymen or parent volunteers who come and go every day.

Retired police and military personnel returning from overseas duty would be optimal sources of security detail for schools. Many soldiers who serve 20 years and retire are still in the prime of their working years. The aforementioned security materials, as well as the existence of police and military as guards do not infringe upon the freedoms of the staff and students entering, exiting, and going about their daily lives in school.

However, Obama is prepared to limit the freedoms of all Americans. During his Newtown vigil speech Obama said, “Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?”

According to the Constitution of the United States, the answer to Obama’s question is yes. Without sounding callous, there is a slippery slope of diminished freedoms – case in point, his healthcare program – and sacrificing one freedom leads to the loss of many more and this republic becomes an unrecognizable entity embracing socialism or worse. Stripping guns from the citizenry is how folks like Stalin and Hitler maintained and expanded their despotic regimes.

To be fair, and I know this will upset some uncompromising people, but I do believe the gun show loophole ought to be closed. If a potential firearm owner is required to undergo a background check when purchasing a gun from a gun store, why shouldn’t the same rules apply when seeking to procure a firearm at a gun show? There should be a level of consistency.

But here’s a quandary that concerns me as a Constitutionalist – what to do regarding military-style assault weapons. Should there be unfettered access to any and all firearms? How about artillery? Bazookas? How about parking a tank in one’s driveway? Where should the line be drawn? If there is a ban on assault rifles is that the beginning of the slippery slope toward too much government? On the other hand, for what does one need this kind of firepower? It certainly isn’t for the sport of hunting animals; and folks can protect their families and homes with any number of other firearms. There is a blur between the lines of too much and protecting Constitutional rights.

Further, while we have a responsibility to protect those who might do harm to themselves, we have the same responsibility to protect society from those very same unbalanced people by not permitting them to possess firearms. Clearly there are people in our world who are not in their right mind and they need help.

How often are serial killers and mass murderers described as solitary, quiet, loners who may have abused animals as a child, been abused at home, been bullied in school, are clinically depressed, are on the wrong medications, are part of Goth culture, have unnatural obsessions with Nazism and Hitler? Far too often; and signals are missed or diagnoses are not made because the mental health system works on a conveyer belt where a patient sees a doctor for maybe 10 minutes.

As a preemptive answer of how to pay for the increased security and mental health care, severe cuts to entitlements must be made. The safety of our children should take precedence. Additionally, a child in an unsafe environment is full of fear and not the knowledge to be provided by their teachers.

The above “symptoms” should not be ignored. They should be taken seriously and be paid attention to for the possibility of treatment. Society cannot lock them away simply because someone thinks they may commit a crime, but it is vital to monitor them for their own safety as well as the safety of others.

There is too large an incidence of mental instability among mass murderers. But, make no mistake, that is no excuse for their crimes against society. They must be removed from free society in order to preserve the freedoms of the innocent. They must suffer extreme consequences for their actions. And this is where Obama is dead wrong about sacrificing freedom for the potential safety of children.

“They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety,” said Benjamin Franklin and it is more poignant than ever before.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

Big Ten Becomes Big Tent

Big Ten Becomes Big Tent

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
November 19, 2012

In the multi-ring circus of college conference dominos, the Big Ten has become the Big Tent with its additions of the University of Maryland from the ACC and Rutgers University from the Big East.

Let’s see if we got this right – to see a Maryland road game, Terp fans have to schlep from the DC-area to Indiana to play either IU or Purdue; but in order to see a Butler road game, Bulldog fans have to schlep from Indiana to the DC-area to take on George Washington in an Atlantic 10 matchup. And this makes sense to whom?

Full disclosure, I am a Maryland alum living in the heart of Big Ten country for the last year and a half and now my Terrapins have followed me west by accepting the invitation to join the Big Ten, that with Rutgers, will now boast 14 in its paddock.

I should be thrilled that I will see my Terps on the Big Ten Network regularly or even in person in Bloomington, West Lafayette, Champaign, or Columbus – all drivable locales. Instead, I am disgusted – not disillusioned by what this move is all about – disgusted and replete with melancholy.

The nights in the overheated Cole Fieldhouse watching the late, great Len Bias school Duke and North Carolina defenses are irreplaceable and will not be found in a Maryland-Minnesota “rivalry.”

It’s about a little something called tradition, and it’s not just a song from “Fiddler.” The University of Maryland is a charter member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, born 1953. The Terps played their first ACC game on October 9 that year and less than two months later their first basketball game in this storied conference.

There is no sense of tradition when it is tossed unceremoniously into the trash bin of history. There is the loss of the natural geographic rivals, and such a move will set off a cataclysmic and seismic quake around college sports. The Big East which should be called the Big Least by now will be poached and pecked away at until only a carcass remains.

Pittsburgh and Syracuse already agreed to join the ACC starting in 2013 and Rutgers is heading west with Maryland. No doubt more Big East teams will gravitate toward the ACC, but the ACC may also lose more of its teams to the SEC and the Big 12, which of course, no longer has 12 schools. Miami and Florida State seem a natural for the SEC as do Georgia Tech and Clemson, firming up their collective rivalries with Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

Temple could be ACC bound along with Connecticut, Delaware, South Florida, and East Carolina. The Big East and Conference USA could find some way to merge as the dominos continue to fall. The Mountain West could split up where half end up in the PAC-12 and the others in the Big-12. Where and when they stop is anyone’s guess. But, leave the place names, directionals, and numbers out of the equations and name these behemoth mega-conferences the way it used to be done in the old NHL – Adams, Campbell, Norris, Patrick, Smythe, and Wales. What’s a little more confusion amongst friends?

“Membership in the Big Ten is in the strategic interest of the University of Maryland,” said President Wallace Loh.

This is a business deal and business only, by Loh, who has his doctorate from Michigan and served as provost at Iowa. Clearly he has more of a link to the Big Ten than the ACC. And Athletic Director Kevin Anderson, who fired popular head football coach Ralph Friedgen upon arrival, has only been in College Park since 2010. Neither man has any emotional ties to Maryland or the conference.

And yet, this business deal will cost Maryland a $50 million exit fee – this on the heels of the school losing seven sports due to a budget crisis. Maryland is hopeful of recouping such loses as part of a bigger media market – one that will stretch from New York City to DC to Lincoln, NE, a mere 1,055 miles from College Park.

The picture of Chancellor Brit Kirwan in The Washington Post makes him look like a grieving father. How and why did he go along with this?

I am not disillusioned to think that this move isn’t all about the almighty dollar. Chasing the vaunted “Benjamins” is certainly nothing new in this world of the meandering schools jumping from conference to conference in search of a bigger payday.

This cavalcade of musical conferences is one major reason why children don’t know their geography. (That it’s not taught in schools any more is a rant for a future column.) Notre Dame to the ACC (sans football)? Let’s not forget the “A” and “C” stand for Atlantic Coast and South Bend, IN doesn’t even touch Lake Michigan, let alone the Atlantic Coast. San Diego State and Boise State to the Big East for football? Is there any wonder no can read a map anymore? It’s wrong – philosophically wrong, geographically wrong and it harmful to real student athletes.

There is too much travel time and time away from the classroom for genuine student athletes to “make the grade,” as is the old adage. But seriously, let’s not fool ourselves into thinking colleges and universities are turning out Phi Beta Kappas when most don’t even graduate. Throw out the statistics that lump all sports together showing a 70-plus percent graduation rate full of golfers, tennis, lacrosse and field hockey players when it’s the high revenue sports of football and basketball that drive those rates into the ground.

The whole notion of the traditional student-athlete is gone, but this is nothing new. Millions of dollars are made from their labors – but, make no mistake, college athletes should not be paid money. They are already paid with an education should they choose to avail themselves of the opportunity given them. That is their choice. Let’s go back to the days when freshmen did not play – give them a chance to become acclimated to the college experience and lifestyle, then give them their eligibility. Those who do not turn pro, and that would be 98 percent of college athletes, allow them time to complete their degrees after their eligibility has expired. Those who are not academically qualified should not set foot on a college campus. Bobby Knight was right in the 1980s when he said, to much improper derision, that college is not for everyone.

“This is a real bad omen for college sports,” said Tom McMillen, Maryland alum, member of its Board of Regents, and three-term member of Congress who voted against the move to the Big Ten. According to The Washington Post the location of the Regents’ Board meeting was kept secret. (11/19/12) What were they afraid of? Perhaps a swarm of unhappy students and alumni wishing to retain Maryland’s tradition, history, and dignity.

Kristi Toliver, an integral part of the 2006 NCAA Championship women’s basketball team Twittered, “The big10? That’s like exchanging a Bentley for a Buick.”

Maryland looks desperate to jump so quickly at the invitation from the Big Ten. Clearly this is about the one sport that drives the bus – football. Maryland can barely get 35,000 to show up to Byrd Stadium to watch the Terps get clobbered by Florida State, but Loh and Anderson are salivating over the possibility of SRO crowds when the Buckeyes and Wolverines come a’ callin’.

But the flip side, is who will schlep to Minneapolis or Iowa City when the drive from College Park to the Research Triangle to see Duke, North Carolina, and North Carolina State is less than five hours. Shorter still to see Virginia Tech or Virginia in Blacksburg or Charlottesville respectively. This move is neither fan friendly nor family friendly.

Maryland great, Harvard Law grad, and ESPN analyst Len Elmore said of Maryland’s abandonment of the ACC, “sad,” and “a bad move. I didn’t think my alma mater would be looking for a money grab, one of the most pernicious things in all of college sports.”

Fellow alum and ESPN analyst Adrian Branch also had misgivings about the move. “I’m in mourning right now,” he said, via an ESPN transcript. “I’m missing the tradition and history and pride and what I shared as an ACC player. That’s been my identity as a basketball player.”

In a non-scientific poll conducted on-line by The Washington Post on Monday, November 19, of the nearly 8,300 votes cast, the margin was two to one against the move from the ACC to the Big Ten.

Terrapin alumni and fans should voice their displeasure and objections to this move via their wallets by withholding financial contributions to Maryland’s Alumni Association and Terrapin Club. After all, if Maryland will realize untold riches through the Big Ten, it certainly doesn’t need the hard earned money from disrespected fans and alumni.

Who will schlep from College Park and its environs to Big Ten country where half its 12 schools are in the Central Time Zone? While Happy Valley, PA is a mere 130 miles from College Park, the other 11 campuses are no less than 330 miles away – Columbus, where the Horseshoe is traditionally sold out a year in advance.

ACC School	Miles from U of MD	Big Ten School	Miles from U of MD
Virginia (Charlottesville)	105	Penn State (Happy Valley)	130
Pittsburgh	190	Rutgers (New Brunswick)	165
Syracuse	220	Ohio State (Columbus)	330
Virginia Tech (Blacksburg)	225	Michigan (Ann Arbor)	422
Duke (Durham)	230	Michigan State (E. Lansing)	470
No. Carolina State (Raleigh)	240	Indiana (Bloomington)	515
No. Carolina (Chapel Hill)	240	Purdue (W. Lafayette)	540
Wake Forest (Winston-Salem)	270	Northwestern (Evanston)	605
Boston College	380	Illinois (Champaign)	610
Clemson	440	Wisconsin (Madison)	710
Georgia Tech (Atlanta)	550	Iowa (Iowa City)	790
Florida State (Tallahassee)	720	Minnesota (Minneapolis)	930
Miami	930	Nebraska (Lincoln)	1055

Mileage data courtesy of The Washington Post.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN. A graduate of the University of Maryland, he is a member of the Alumni Association and Terrapin Club – for now.

Sailing Over the Fiscal Cliff

Sailing Over the Fiscal Cliff

Commentary by Sanford D. Horn

November 16, 2012

In what has become an ugly game of chicken between the administration and the Republican-led Congress, it is painfully obvious that neither side is actually concerned about the American people who will fast be headed over the fiscal cliff come January 1^st.

Both major political parties are complicit in this crime against the American people and their future generations. With $16 trillion in debt and no end in sight, there is an old adage – in order to get out of a hole, the first rule is to put down the shovel. In this case, the Congress and administration can stop banging each other over the head with that very shovel. As it is, those under age 18 will incur $216,000 individual debt by the time they reach the age of majority.

Allowing the Bush-era tax cuts to expire would cause an undue burden on the people – more-so than any potential burden on the government. After all, the government works for us, and not the other way around, contrary to Obama’s words in his Wednesday press conference where he referred to the American people as “customers.”

If Obama refers to the American people as customers; customers of what? In this case, customers of government, as though government was a business, and in Obama’s warped belief system, government that is a for-profit entity, instead of a zero-sum-gain proposition. Government is not supposed to be a money-making organization. After all, there is no such thing as government money. ANY money government takes in, it takes from the American people in the form of taxes.

Now, and this is nothing new, Obama seeks to take more money from the American people in the form of tax increases on income, investments, and even death. Obama needs to revisit rule number one – instead of taking more and more from the American people to feed the behemoth that is out of control government, it needs to put down the shovel and stop spending.

This is where the GOP is complicit – all revenue bills are required to begin in the House of Representatives where the Republicans hold the majority. For all the bashing the GOP has taken in recent years as the party of “no,” sometimes no is the right answer.

Should the American people be taxed more? No.

Should government continue deficit spending? No.

Should the Obama administration continue to be allowed to run amok with Executive Orders bypassing Congress? No.

The Founding Fathers installed a system of checks and balances in the Constitution for a reason – so that no one branch has commanding, unchecked, unfettered power over another branch.

Congress also needs to police itself better. Instead of members returning to their home districts bragging to constituents about the pork they have brought them – which of course is paid for by we the people, they should inform the people that money has been saved on their behalf – that is worthy of the reward of reelection.

Raising taxes on the wealthiest two percent provides revenue to the government lasting between a week and a month, depending upon which so-called expert economists are asked. Yet, ultimately, take more from that same group and they will invariably produce less and hire fewer people in an effort to keep their tax bills lower.

Similarly, with the death/estate tax due to be raised, a huge burden will be placed upon farm owners and small business owners for whom the bulk of their estates are in land and merchandise, not cash. The tax increase would move from those whose estates are valued at $5 million and above at a 35 percent rate to a mere $1 million at an astounding 55 percent rate. Such a tax is only designed to prevent families from passing wealth, farms, and/or businesses from one generation to the next, when it should be their legal right to do with their own wealth as they wish.

Additionally unrealized capital gains will be severely taxed as part of the death tax, just more government stripping away a family’s wealth for the purpose of feeding a hungry, out of control entity behaving in an unconstitutional manner spending on programs it shouldn’t.

And on the topic of capital gains, they, along with dividend income will see tax rates double from 15 percent to 30 percent. This will be brutally detrimental to investors and have an adverse effect on Wall Street. There could be a large sell off prior to the end of the year and little purchasing after January 1^st. Such a tax increase punishes success and the risks that investors are willing to take in the free market system on the potential growth of business – business that creates jobs and keeps people employed and off the government dole.

But apparently Obama cares more about the redistribution of wealth than the actual creation of wealth. This is nothing new. He told the American people during the 2008 campaign while speaking to Samuel “Joe the plumber” Wurzelbacher in Ohio that “when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody.”

Except that it’s not good for everybody. When wealth is taken from the “haves” and given to the “have nots,” the “haves” have little incentive to continue working hard to create more wealth or hire more people to begin accumulating their own wealth. Productivity wanes, unemployment rises, thus more people reliant upon a government check and government takes in less revenue because the “haves” are earning less.

Once the “have nots” spend what is given them, they are back to square one – having not again. They too become even more dependent upon government for survival and with the “haves” now having and producing less, there is less for the “have nots”. Such shortfalls are rarely recuperated and the economy continues its recessionary slide toward third worldism.

Making matters worse, is Obama-care. From the day after Election Day, scores of companies, large and small began announcing wholesale layoffs in an effort to save money on the Obama-care costs and penalties to be imposed. Companies are shearing staff hours turning full-timers into part-timers for the same reason. These actions will also have adverse effects on the economy. Not to mention the fact that health insurance should be procured across state lines, increasing competition and lowering rates for the American people.

The government doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem. One surefire way to cut spending – disincentivize illegals from staying in the United States or even from invading our borders in the first place. Because they – somewhere between 12 and 20 million illegals – are in the country illegally in the first place, they should not be entitled to seats in American classrooms – K-through-12 or college; nor health care and hospitalization; nor food stamps; nor welfare; nor jobs; nor drivers licenses or anything else that would encourage them to remain in this country illegally living under the radar screen.

Part of the problem is not that Obama is stupid – it’s that Obama is not stupid and is calculating in an effort to level the playing field for all Americans regardless of the outcome. This is part of Obama’s socialist, anti-American, lack of American exceptionalism world view.

The time is now for the Congress to take its responsibility seriously, say no to Obama’s cataclysmic economic plan for disaster that will leave the US more than $20 trillion in debt by the time he leaves office. Congress must stop spending and stop it now. Stick to only what the Constitution allows or we the people will replace you with those who will.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.

2012 - Moving Forward

2012 – Moving Forward
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
November 7, 2012

My friends and fellow Americans:

“These are the times that try men’s souls.” – Thomas Paine

This is not the time to capitulate, retreat, or compromise. No. This is the time to strengthen our collective resolve, vow to keep fighting for what is right, moral, and decent in this great nation of ours.

This is the time to remind the elected officials that they work for us and not the other way around. This the time to remember that the United States Constitution is not some antiquated document that can be ignored and tossed into the dustbin of history.

This is the time to find those real conservatives who will represent us in the election of 2014 – those honorable men and women who understand what is Constitutional and what is not; what is an appropriate action to take in the world and what is not; what is the legal manner in which to allocate the funds we the people send out of responsibility for the few necessities promulgated by the law – to provide for the common defense.

This is the time to find the true conservative, not some weak-kneed moderate masquerading as a conservative, but a true Constitutional conservative be it a Republican or a member of the Constitution Party to be the standard bearer in 2016. The GOP had better heed the message that moderates to appease the media; moderates to appease the opposition will guarantee a future much like that of the Whig Party – extinction.

This is a clarion call for true conservatism – fiscal and social – not right-wing fanaticism, but genuine political and cultural conservatism that welcomes black voters, Hispanic voters, and Jewish voters who have balked at joining the movement due to a fear of a religious insurrection.

Religious faith is very important and should not be dismissed, but it should not be intertwined in our body politic. Having religious principles that guide us in how we live our lives on a daily basis is vital. Prayer is good too, but it should be personal and not political.

I am a believer in one Almighty G-d and attend synagogue regularly. It is a major part of what defines me as a person and how I choose to live my life. It does not, however, dictate my politics.

Taken on true conservative principles, supporting life, the rights of victims of crimes over those of the criminal, a strong national defense, the defense of marriage as one man-one woman, non-entangling alliances, the rights to defend one’s life, family and property are all tenets that should attract support from a vast swath of Americana, and it is welcomed.

Now is the time, friends, fellow Americans, and fellow patriots to stand up and not shy away from the hard work and responsibility that has fallen on our shoulders. Our voices must be heard and we must deliver ourselves from this festering cesspool of mediocrity and reclaim this nation to be the democratic-republic our Founding Fathers fought and died to give us. Their work shall not be in vain.

Thank you, and may G-d Bless us and the United States of America.

Sanford D. Horn is an educator and writer living in Westfield, IN. A lifelong Republican, he is (again) interested in seeking public office with the proper support and backing.

Opinion 2012: the White House and Senate

Opinion 2012: the White House and Senate
Commentary by Sanford D. Horn
November 4, 2012

After much anticipation, I am prepared to release my 2012 Election picks for the 50 (no matter how much Obama wants us to believe there are 57) states as well as 17 of the Senate races. While there are 33 Senate seats up for grabs, in my estimation, 16 of those seats are no mystery as to who will win.

I hope all who are eligible will take their civic responsibility to heart and cast their ballots, if they have not already done so. Let the record show, I am against early voting, which should be for legitimate absentee issues only. If someone is too lazy to go to their polling place on Election Day, that is truly sad. The law requires employers to allow their employees time to vote on Election Day without penalty, so that should not be an issue.

With the possibilities of voter fraud and computer hacking beyond comprehension, I also oppose on-line voting. Quite frankly, I question the security of the electronic machines, already hearing stories of people attempting to vote for Gov. Mitt Romney but the machine attempts to cast a vote for Barack Obama. As far as I am concerned, paper ballots with an equal number of representatives from the major parties serving as witnesses to sign off on the legitimacy of the count work just fine. And that leads into my next concern – media reporting of the returns.

If paper balloting takes longer to record results than the electronic formats, the advantage goes to the voter on the left coast. When polls close in the East at 6, 7 or even 8 p.m., it is still 3, 4 and 5 in the afternoon on the left coast. Announcing the results in the eastern states may potentially influence voters who have yet to cast their ballots. I offer two potential solutions.

The first is that none of the news outlets or agencies report any results until 11 p.m. EST when the polls close in the Pacific Time Zone. The alternative is to report the non-presidential results in each time zone as polls close – gubernatorial, senate, house, mayoral races, etc. There are plenty of those races to keep people occupied for an hour until the next time zone reports in, etc.

If states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan or Wisconsin go Romney’s way on Tuesday, it will be an early night and a route for the GOP. While I have those states in Obama’s column, they are the same canary in the mineshaft that Indiana was in 2008. When the Hoosier State reported in for Obama by 7:30 p.m. the race for the White House was over.

Without any further ado, my predictions for the presidential and select senate races of 2012. Agree or disagree on these predictions, I feel confident we can all agree we are thrilled to be rid of the campaign ads flooding our airwaves.

STATE	ELECTORAL VOTES	W. MITT ROMNEY (R)	BARACK H. OBAMA (D)	CUMULATIVE TOTAL FOR ROMNEY	CUMULATIVE TOTAL FOR OBAMA
Alabama	9	X		9	0
Alaska	3	X		12	0
Arizona	11	X		23	0
Arkansas	6	X		29	0
California	55		X	29	55
Colorado	9	X		38	55
Connecticut	7		X	38	62
Delaware	3		X	38	65
Florida	29	X		67	65
Georgia	16	X		83	65
Hawaii	4		X	83	69
Idaho	4	X		87	69
Illinois	20		X	87	89
Indiana	11	X		98	89
Iowa	6		X	98	95
Kansas	6	X		104	95
Kentucky	8	X		112	95
Louisiana	8	X		120	95
Maine	4		X	120	99
Maryland	10		X	120	109
Massachusetts	11		X	120	120
Michigan	16		X	120	136
Minnesota	10		X	120	146
Mississippi	6	X		126	146
Missouri	10	X		136	146
Montana	3	X		139	146
Nebraska	5	X		144	146
Nevada	6	X		150	146
New Hampshire	4		X	150	150
New Jersey	14		X	150	164
New Mexico	5		X	150	169
New York	29		X	150	198
North Carolina	15	X		165	198
North Dakota	3	X		168	198
Ohio	18	X		186	198
Oklahoma	7	X		193	198
Oregon	7		X	193	205
Pennsylvania	20		X	193	225
Rhode Island	4		X	193	229
South Carolina	9	X		202	229
South Dakota	3	X		205	229
Tennessee	11	X		216	229
Texas	38	X		254	229
Utah	6	X		260	229
Vermont	3		X	260	232
Virginia	13	X		273	232
Washington	12		X	273	244
West Virginia	5	X		278	244
Wisconsin	10		X	278	254
Wyoming	3	X		281	254
Washington, DC	3		X	281	257
ROMNEY WINS				281	257

If I were hedging my bets, I would suggest that Romney’s slimmest margin of victory would be 275-263 using the above numbers, but putting Nevada (6) in Obama’s column. I would also suggest Romney’s largest margin of victory would be 301-237 with Iowa (6), New Hampshire (4), and Wisconsin (10) sliding over to the Romney column.

Senate Races

Arizona: Jeff Flake (R) a popular fiscal conservative should be able to replace retiring GOP Sen. John Kyl by defeating Richard Carmona (D).

Connecticut: Former Congressman Chris Shays (D) seems to have an edge over Linda McMahon (R) of World Wide Wrestling fame to replace retiring Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I).

Florida: Taking the wimp’s way out, this race should go to whoever takes the state in the presidential race. That said, it looks like I am picking GOP Congressman Connie Mack to defeat incumbent Bill Nelson (D), and gain a seat for the GOP.

Hawaii: This race interests me because not only will the Aloha State elect a woman to the US Senate, she will be a Jewish Republican in former Governor Linda Lingle who has already defeated US Rep. Mazie Hirono in a statewide race. This will be a GOP pickup as Dem. Sen. Daniel Akaka is retiring.

Indiana: While one state giveth, another taketh away. The Hawaii gain will be given back to the Dems. In the form of US Rep. Joe Donnelly who will defeat gaffe-prone GOP Richard Mourdock to replace long-time GOP Sen. Richard Lugar.

Maine: This three-way race intrigues me because I think Independent and former Governor Angus King will once again reign in Maine defeating Charlie Summers (R) and Cynthia Dill (D) to replace the retiring Sen. Olympia Snowe (R).

Massachusetts: Incumbent Scott Brown (R), yes, you read that correctly – he’s the Republican who won the special election following the death of Ted Kennedy, will narrowly edge out Elizabeth Warren (D) and retain the seat. Warren’s campaign has been rife with questionable statements about her own resume and heritage.

Michigan: Sadly, I think Debbie Stabenow (D) will retain this seat skating by over former US Rep. Pete Hoekstra due to Obama winning the state. Make no mistake; she has been no prize for Michigan.

Missouri: Teaching Richard Mourdock (IN) how to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, US Rep. Todd Akin (R) will lose a race that was his for the taking over unpopular incumbent Democrat Claire McCaskill.

Montana: The state’s lone US Rep. Denny Rehberg should be able to flip Montana for the GOP by defeating one-term incumbent Democrat John Tester, in spite of a third party candidate claiming Rehberg is not conservative enough.

Nebraska: With Ben Nelson (D) retiring, former Senator and Governor Bob Kerrey is seeking a return to Washington, DC. Standing in his way is State Senator Deb Fischer (R), who I predict will keep Kerrey in retirement.

Nevada: Recent incumbent Dean Heller (R), who filled the seat of John Ensign who resigned due to a scandal, seeks the seat for a full term, and should be able to defeat US Rep. Shelley Berkley (D).

New Mexico: In a battle of two former congressmen to replace retiring Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D), I give the edge to moderate Republican Heather Wilson over Martin Heinrich. This is the same state that elected another female Republican – Susana Martinez governor in 2010.

Ohio: As I said regarding Florida, I am taking the wimp’s way out and calling this one for whomever wins the presidential vote in the Buckeye State. That said, having called Ohio for Romney, I am taking the young, Jewish Marine and State Treasurer Josh Mandel to unseat incumbent Sherrod Brown and flip Ohio back to the GOP.

Texas: Having overcome long odds to win the GOP primary, Ted Cruz the Lone Star State’s former solicitor general should Cruz to victory over former State Rep. Paul Sadler to replace the retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison (R), who will be missed in the Senate.

Virginia: See also Florida and Ohio, and I am way too close to this race to be completely objective, but in the battle of former governors George Allen (R) and Tim Kaine (D), if Romney wins in the Old Dominion as I predicted, Allen will return to the Senate and Kaine can continue to botch things for the DNC. An Allen win would flip the commonwealth as retiring Sen. Jim Webb is a Democrat.

Wisconsin: Former HHS Secretary and Governor Tommy Thompson should win this seat for the GOP defeating US Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D). A Thompson victory would flip the state to the GOP in the wake of retiring Sen. Herb Kohl.

Of the 67 senators not up for reelection this year, 37 are Republicans and 30 are Democrats. There are five senate races that are virtual locks for the GOP and 11 for the Democrats, raising the sub-totals to 42 for the GOP and 41 for the Democrats. If my above predictions come to fruition, the Republicans will control the Senate 54 to 45 with one Independent. The GOP will retain control of the House of Representatives picking up an additional four to six seats.

Happy voting and happy Election Day.

Sanford D. Horn is a writer and educator living in Westfield, IN.