Frank Salvato

Specter: An Opportunist Guilty of Political Treason

US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced this week that he was switching political parties. Initially he said that he was doing so because he didn't want to be "judged by the Pennsylvania Republican primary electorate," the same electorate he courted in his last election. But later, after he realized his statement depicted him as an ungrateful political opportunist, he said his decision was based on the idea that the Republican Party – which has moved more to the center in recent years – has “moved too far to the Right.” The truth is that Specter is a political opportunist who has literally thrown his constituency under the bus just to save his political career. In the political sense, he is a traitor.

A Week for the Earth; A Day for the Constitution

Each morning, as I drive my wife to the train, we listen to our local news talk radio station, WIND AM560 in Chicago. Their morning team, John and Cisco, offer a solid discussion on most issues presented, much more balanced and cerebral than the other talkers in Chicago. On this day, and, in fact, for most of the week, they have been addressing “Earth Week.” Today, as we made our way to the train, Cisco said something that struck a chord with both of us. To paraphrase, he said that he was a bit annoyed that Earth Day had morphed into Earth Week. To which my wife, Nancy, said, “You know, they have a week for the Earth but just one day for the Constitution.”

The Left Is Making a Mistake in Ridiculing the Tea Parties

The political Left in the United States is making a grave mistake in diminishing and dismissing the anger of the American people. Where it may be common place for liberals, Leftists, neo-Marxists and Progressive-Leftists to take to the streets over anything and everything, including a change of wind direction, it is entirely a different story with conservatives and Republicans. Conservatives and Republicans don’t march in the streets for anything. The fact that they have now taken to the streets in protest of massive government spending and government’s encroachment into our liberties speaks volumes to those who would listen.

Obama’s European Tour: Arrogance, Ineptness and an Abdication of Leadership

Many observations have been made regarding President Barack Obama's recent trip overseas. Most of them have been quite severe and rightly so. His many “appearances” bore a striking resemblance to his nauseatingly long campaign for the presidency; a campaign devoid of specifics and substance and rich with swagger and rhetoric.

The Two-Faced Brutality of Hope & Change

As the leaders of the G20 assembled in London to discuss the economic woes of the world, so too came the dregs of the Earth. Under the ruse of assembling as tolerant, engaged and caring members of society – activists concerned with war, the environment and the economic crisis – anti-war activists, eco-zealots, anti-Capitalists and anarchists descended on the city by the Thames causing havoc, damaging property and, in one specific instance, interfering with life-saving emergency treatment of one of their own. Interestingly, these are the same throngs of adoring “citizens of the world” that greeted Mr. Obama when he went on his campaign swing through Europe; the same assemblage of inhumanity that then candidate Barack Obama embraced as the “future.”

The United States of America Is Not a Democracy

“Pure democracy is the most vile form of government...such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention: have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property: and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.” – James Madison, Father of the US Constitution

The ‘Give Obama a Chance’ Trial Period is Over

Like many conservatives, traditionalists and Republicans who didn't want to ape the caustic rhetoric of the neo-Marxist Progressive-Left used during the entirety of the Bush Administration, I promised myself to refrain from immediately assuming that Barack Obama was going to bring with him to the White House the backroom politics of Chicago's Democrat Machine. I employed the Reagan doctrine of “trust but verify.” Well, the verdict is in and the political tactics and policies that Barack Obama has brought to the Executive Branch are not only of the old school “Chicago Way,” they are literally neo-Marxist and naïve.

Recognizing the Reality of Radical Islam

Newsweek recently ran an article by Fareed Zakaria titled, Learning to Live with Radical Islam. In this article Mr. Zakaria contends that in our quest to prevail over the virulent factions within the fundamentalist Islamic culture we in the West must learn to discern the radical Islamist from the jihadi; the fundamentalist from the terrorist.

‘Oh, God!’ It’s Bobby Jindal!

It is no secret that today’s mainstream media has morphed into an ideological and agenda-driven propaganda machine, complete with preconceived notions and pre-existing biases. We witnessed the repercussions of this ethical degradation first-hand in the mainstream media’s failure to critically examine the Obama presidential candidacy prior to the 2008 Presidential Election. This bastardization of the media’s informational charge can only be understood as being detrimental to the United States.

It’s Not Obama’s “Stimulus” Bill

Now that the behemoth “stimulus” package has been reconciled in conference it appears that we, the taxpayers, will be saddled with financing a superfluity of special interest projects and entitlements. From programs that serve to combat sexually transmitted diseases and facilitate smoking prevention initiatives to the $30 million earmarked – yes, earmarked – for a wetlands restoration project meant to protect the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, We the People have been bamboozled into financing the biggest raid on the US Treasury in the history of our nation. But before we grab the pitchforks and the torches and start marching down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House in protest, we should consider the facts surrounding the crafting of this abysmal piece of pork legislation.

Time to Admit the Realities of Pakistan

For as long as the United States has been fighting the “War on Terror” the nation of Pakistan has pledged its alliance. Throughout the tenure of Pervez Musharraf's administration and during the prospect of a Benazir Bhutto government, those in control of the Pakistani message have openly pledged their support to the US-led effort in the conflict with radical Islamist aggression. Today, President Asif Ali Zardari continues that line of rhetoric in the face of an explosion of radical Islamist influence within his country. But reality often betrays rhetoric and as we continue in this global, generational and ideological conflict we in the West would be wise to reevaluate the actions of Pakistan in the face of their pledges of alliance.

Gaza & The One-World Media’s Propaganda

As the Israelis continue their push into Gaza; as they continue an offensive military campaign against Hamas, born of the need to protect Israeli civilians from rockets fired by Hamas jihadis, it is almost impossible to gather accurate information regarding the conflict, at least not from the mainstream media. The accounts advanced by mainstream news sources are so devoid of balance – and, thusly, devoid of a whole and honest truth – that their product reaches a caliber of propaganda not seen since the disinformation campaigns of the Third Reich. Goebbels would be envious.

Illinois Politics, Chicago Corruption…I Told You So

Prior to the November General Election I wrote an article called This Is What a Vote for Obama Gets You. It highlighted the state of affairs here in Democrat controlled Illinois. Beyond that it introduced the reality that most Democrat politicians (and some Republicans for that matter) who emanate from Illinois – and especially Chicago – have a problem with ethics, demonstrating, almost on a daily basis, an inherent penchant for corruption. The recent influence peddling and profiteering scandal involving Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich demonstrates the Chicago/Illinois Democrat Machine in action.

Barack Obama: Neither Oblivious Nor Deceptive

Death by a thousand cuts. That is exactly what is happening to President-Elect Barack Obama’s credibility as he and his campaign continue to abuse the “plausible deniability” political tactic. As the list of radicals, political opportunists and ethically challenged elected officials that Mr. Obama portends not to know continues to grow, the voters who believed they voted for “hope” and “change” are starting to realize that the promise of an Obama presidency, well, it isn’t so much...

Why the POTUS Needs to Be a Natural-Born Citizen

The Founders and Framers were incredibly intelligent people. In fact, they operated, intellectually, at a grade 24 level, grade 12 equating to the senior year in high school. Therefore, it shouldn't come as any surprise that each Article and Amendment – each tenet – in The Charters of Freedom was painstakingly examined, debated, reviewed and, finally, included. Article II, Section 1 of the United States Constitution – the Article that clearly states the qualifications for holding the office of President of the United States – is no different.

A Cornucopia of Gratitude

As we enter the holiday season we will begin to hear a lot about kindness and appreciation. Sure, there will be the mental midgets who need to take issue with holiday displays and transmitted sentiments (we should really pity their stunted intellect as they celebrate their generic event) but for the most part we will begin to hear quite a bit about giving thanks, peace on earth, goodwill, brotherhood, sharing and sacrifice. This is the season of hope and while certain political opportunists incessantly try to franchise that word, for all their efforts, they are included in this joyous season as well.

Giving Marriage Back to the Church

Across the country the issue of “gay marriage” is being debated, examined, voted on and legislated. Groups, both pro and con, have taken to the streets from Massachusetts and Connecticut to both ends of California to express their support and opposition to legislating finality to this issue. While the answer to this ideological impasse may indeed come from legislation, it may come in an unexpected form and require those on both sides of the issue to dial back on their own self-importance.

Understanding the Concept of Reform

Country first. It’s a great concept and one that has been – for all practical purposes – lacking inside the beltway since before the advent of the spin doctor. Truthfully, both major political parties and their elected and appointed leadership have been delinquent in executing the spirit of “country first.” Both have placed the health of their respective political parties before good government and their quest for political power above the needs and demands of their constituents and the good of the nation. Both should be admonished for violating their oaths and betraying the American people.

Will Republicans Have the Courage to Hit the Reset Button

So, the voters of the United States have spoken. They have chosen – or we have chosen because it is important to treat the presidency with respect, something the Progressive-Left wouldn’t have understood until now – a 47-year old multiracial man, who had a decidedly “Progressive” upbringing, who taught community activist organizations to pressure financial institutions into embracing bad business practices, whose records when in the Illinois Senate were destroyed and who started campaigning for the presidency almost from the beginning of his US Senate career. Congratulations, President-Elect Obama. You pulled it off.

This Is What a Vote for Obama Gets You

I live in Illinois, just outside of Chicago. I live in the state that incubated the political career of Barack Obama and for that, as a resident of the State of Illinois and a conservative, I apologize. But this puts me in a unique position to afford you a glimpse of things to come for our nation should Barack Obama attain the Oval Office, and especially if Democrats maintain or increase their control in Congress. I present to the citizens of the United States the State of Illinois; a working model that illustrates the consequences of a government run by the Progressive-Left.