By Michael Aubele
VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Wes Thompson wants Ron Paul for president and isn't afraid to show it.
Thompson arrived here at district court on Tuesday wearing a blue T-shirt with gold lettering that read, "Freedom loving Pennsylvanians support Ron Paul for president in 2008."
Partially hidden under Thompson's jacket, the shirt wasn't overly noticeable -- unlike the large campaign sign Thompson has attached to the fence in front of his home and business along Freeport Road in Blawnox.
It was the sign that forced Thompson to show up at District Judge Elissa Lang's courtroom for a civil hearing.
Blawnox Borough filed a suit against Thompson claiming he violated a zoning ordinance by displaying a campaign sign more than 30 days before an election.
Pennsylvania's presidential primary will be April 22.
Thompson hung the sign in August, near a sign that's been on his fence for years advocating a United States withdrawal from the United Nations.
According to the civil complaint, Blawnox officials twice called Thompson to tell him to remove the sign. The complaint also states that police delivered a letter to Thompson instructing him to remove the sign.
The borough, according to the complaint, is seeking the maximum fine of $500 plus a $49 fee.
Thompson, meantime, said he has no plans to remove the sign. He believes his right to keep it there is protected by the Constitution under the First Amendment.
"This (ordinance) obviously is not constitutional," he said.
He also argued that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld residents' right to place signs on their own property, citing the 1994 decision, City of Ladue v. Gilleo.
In that case, the court struck down a Missouri city law prohibiting signs at private residences.
"I've never had trouble with the borough before," Thompson said. "For whatever reason, they don't like the sign."
He added, "I'm keeping the sign up."
Thompson said he's always been politically active. He supports Paul, a Green Tree native and former Libertarian who's running as a Republican, because the candidate holds true to the Constitution.
"I don't care about party as long as the candidate is correct on the issues," said Thompson, local chapter leader of the John Birch Society and state vice chairman of the Pennsylvania Constitution Party. "What's important is the Constitution."
Thompson said he hung the sign because "Somebody like Ron Paul needs name recognition. He doesn't have the name recognition of someone like Hillary Clinton."
About a dozen Paul supporters arrived at Lang's courtroom on Tuesday with Thompson. Some also wore T-shirts supporting the candidate, and at least one carried a sign.
"This is a true grassroots campaign," Thompson said.
"I'm thrilled that (Paul) is a candidate," he added. "At the very least, he'll educate the American people and a lot of the candidates."
A spokesman for Paul's campaign could not be reached for comment.
Whether or not Thompson will have to remove his Ron Paul sign wasn't decided Tuesday because Lang continued the hearing on a date to be scheduled.
Lang said the case wasn't meant for a civil suit. She said she advised Blawnox's solictor that the proper way to file the charge would be as a non-traffic summary violation.
Lang said the civil charge would be withdrawn.
John Rushford, attorney representing Blawnox, said the borough would "review the matter before taking further action."
"Typically," he said, "a zoning violation is not a criminal case."
Rushford said that no one from his firm, Dodaro Cambest & Associates, could attend Tuesday's hearing and that the firm requested it be continued.
Michael Aubele can be reached at maubele@tribweb.com or 724-226-4673.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Pennsylvania Legislator Interested in Replacing Petitions with Filing Fees
November 30th, 2007
Pennsylvania Representative Kerry Benninghoff has been seriously considering introducing a bill to let candidates get on ballots by paying a filing fee, instead of submitting a mandatory petition. The Pennsylvania legislature is still in session and will keep working during the first part of December 2007. Benninghoff is a Republican from Bellefonte and has served in the House since 1996.
www.ballot-access.org
Pennsylvania Representative Kerry Benninghoff has been seriously considering introducing a bill to let candidates get on ballots by paying a filing fee, instead of submitting a mandatory petition. The Pennsylvania legislature is still in session and will keep working during the first part of December 2007. Benninghoff is a Republican from Bellefonte and has served in the House since 1996.
www.ballot-access.org
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Pain at the Pump
This past week Americans traveled approximately 2 billion miles to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday with family and loved ones. While you cannot put a price on time with family, Americans sure felt the pain of higher fuel prices at the gas pump. It is time to take an honest look at the government's direct and indirect role in inflating those prices.
Taxation is the most direct way government increases Americans' cost at the pump. The national average price of gas now is well over $3.00 per gallon now, $4 in some areas. Federal taxes take 18.4 cents, while state and local taxes average another 28.5 cents per gallon. That's an average of 47 cents per gallon Americans are paying just for government, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Less directly, our loose monetary policy gives taxpayers double jeopardy at the pump, simultaneously increasing prices and undermining purchasing power. Wages always lag behind price increases, making average Americans feel as though they can never quite keep up, never quite get out of debt. Not to mention the ripple effect of higher diesel costs on the trucking industry. When trucking and shipping is more expensive, everything is more expensive.
The indirect costs government imposes on gas prices are much more serious. A major bottleneck that causes gas prices to surge is our very meagre and vulnerable refinery capacity due mostly to regulatory red tape. Environmental regulations and litigation have kept our existing refinery capacity barely adequate. In fact, no new refineries have been built since the 70's and these are operating at capacity, which makes our gasoline market especially vulnerable as demonstrated by skyrocketing gas prices in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when many coastal oil facilities were brought to a halt. In addition, many foreign refineries don't have the ability to produce the specialized blends of gasoline mandated by our government, and therefore 90% of our gasoline is refined in the United States under extreme regulatory burden. When our domestic refineries are damaged or jeopardized, there are few options other than soaring prices or long lines.
I've introduced The Affordable Gas Price Act (HR 2415) to deal with some of these issues. My bill would suspend Federal fuel taxes when prices rise above $3.00 a gallon, giving some immediate relief at the pump. It would also repeal misguided legislation that causes more investment in attorneys and nuisance litigation than in actually producing affordable gasoline and strengthening our refining capacity. Also, it would open up ANWR for oil exploration and repeal the federal moratorium on off-shore drilling.
Much of government intervention in the oil industry in the past has been counter-productive and has resulted in disastrous unintended consequences. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for every mile Americans can still afford to travel to be with family. I am working hard in Congress to reverse the costly trend of government interference and return markets, including oil markets, to true economic freedom.
www.ronpaul2008.com
Taxation is the most direct way government increases Americans' cost at the pump. The national average price of gas now is well over $3.00 per gallon now, $4 in some areas. Federal taxes take 18.4 cents, while state and local taxes average another 28.5 cents per gallon. That's an average of 47 cents per gallon Americans are paying just for government, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Less directly, our loose monetary policy gives taxpayers double jeopardy at the pump, simultaneously increasing prices and undermining purchasing power. Wages always lag behind price increases, making average Americans feel as though they can never quite keep up, never quite get out of debt. Not to mention the ripple effect of higher diesel costs on the trucking industry. When trucking and shipping is more expensive, everything is more expensive.
The indirect costs government imposes on gas prices are much more serious. A major bottleneck that causes gas prices to surge is our very meagre and vulnerable refinery capacity due mostly to regulatory red tape. Environmental regulations and litigation have kept our existing refinery capacity barely adequate. In fact, no new refineries have been built since the 70's and these are operating at capacity, which makes our gasoline market especially vulnerable as demonstrated by skyrocketing gas prices in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina when many coastal oil facilities were brought to a halt. In addition, many foreign refineries don't have the ability to produce the specialized blends of gasoline mandated by our government, and therefore 90% of our gasoline is refined in the United States under extreme regulatory burden. When our domestic refineries are damaged or jeopardized, there are few options other than soaring prices or long lines.
I've introduced The Affordable Gas Price Act (HR 2415) to deal with some of these issues. My bill would suspend Federal fuel taxes when prices rise above $3.00 a gallon, giving some immediate relief at the pump. It would also repeal misguided legislation that causes more investment in attorneys and nuisance litigation than in actually producing affordable gasoline and strengthening our refining capacity. Also, it would open up ANWR for oil exploration and repeal the federal moratorium on off-shore drilling.
Much of government intervention in the oil industry in the past has been counter-productive and has resulted in disastrous unintended consequences. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful for every mile Americans can still afford to travel to be with family. I am working hard in Congress to reverse the costly trend of government interference and return markets, including oil markets, to true economic freedom.
www.ronpaul2008.com
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