On this day of thanks for all we have; family, friends, health and for living in this great nation, it is only fitting we look back to Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation:
By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor–and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be–That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks–for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation–for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in thecourse and conclusion of the late war–for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed–for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted–for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
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Robert Principe, November 24th 2011 |
Tags: congress, government, independence
Posted in Events, Uncategorized
While sitting on the front porch with my “tea” and pondering the situation with the government, wondering what to do. I think to myself we have a government that is running deficits year after year; mounting long term debt like a kid with a Platinum Am Ex card; no legislation to promote job growth or small businesses; and burdensome rules/ regulations infringing upon our rights and freedoms.
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Robert Principe, August 17th 2011 |
Tags: debt, deficit, Elections, Fishkill, lacolla, NY Candidates
Posted in Elections, Uncategorized
I have not always been a fan of term limits because I feel public service is a “calling”. When your community asks you to put your skills, experience, and character to work for the betterment of society you do it humbly, passionately and ethically. It takes a strong man of principle to know when their job is done and time for fresh ideas, President Washington was a man of such ideals. While urged to seek a 3rd term he decided not to, because America had just fought a war to throw off the yoke of monarchism and he did not want to become “King George”.
Sadly, a lot of today’s politicians act like it’s their divine right to be in “power” and, along with a complicit political system, they think they are smarter and wiser than the citizens they represent, thus legislate against the will of the people.
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Robert Principe, July 16th 2011 |
Tags: election, government, NY Candidates, term limits
Posted in Elections, Issues
After 13 years of trumpeting “no tax increases” the Town of Fishkill Supervisor Joan Pagones now says that the new New York State 2% Property Tax Cap is going to create a problem for Fishkill. The question that springs to mind is “Why?” Why, after 13 years of not raising taxes when everything around us is going up do we suddenly have a problem with a 2% increase? How did the Supervisor magically maintain the status quo, even though surrounding Town’s budgets dictated increases of 5, 15, 20 or even higher percent increases? Thanks to a New York State Comptroller audit, we now know it was done with a shady shell game of borrowing, improper budget transfers and outright theft from districts that have gone lacking.
By Supervisor Pagones’ own admission the Town is “roughly 30 million dollars in debt”. Like a teenager with a credit card Pagones has no concept of living within your means, and sadly the Town of Fishkill is now on the hook for her bill. The honorable thing to do would be resign with humility but instead she chooses to deny, dispute and accuse anyone trying to review true budget numbers of “troublemaking”. Her only goal has been re-election and for 19 years it worked, but there’s a new wind blowing in Fishkill.
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Todd, July 14th 2011 |
Tags: Add new tag, election, Fishkill, lacolla, Local Taxes, Vote
Posted in Area Budgets, Elections
The Supervisor of the Town of Fishkill had a few choice words for Midhudsonnews.com:
Fishkill Town Supervisor Joan Pagones said her town’s financial recovery plan is working well.
“We feel confident the plan is going to continue to work; it has worked this year; we’re right on target for 2011, and all communities will have to dig a little deeper and make more spending cuts,” she said.
Yet in the report the Moody’s analyst, in the following excerpt, found it necessary to mention which Towns were of concern for further downgrades:
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Robert Principe, July 7th 2011 |
Tags: debt, deficit, Fishkill, Local Taxes
Posted in Area Budgets, Elections, Issues
Friends I’m compelled to share this article with you, it speaks to the power of the Tea Party movement and to our independence from an overbearing and overly intrusive government.
Here’s an excerpt:
“Independence in politics means that you can actually dictate some of the terms to our overlords,” Welch and Gillespie write, adding that we need independence not just in politics but from politics. Welch said, “When we look at the places where government either directly controls or heavily regulates things, like K-12 education, health care, retirement, things are going poorly.”
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20110630/COLUMNISTS03/106300313/Stossel-Government-control-tends-curb-free-expression?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Opinion
Robert Principe, June 30th 2011 |
Tags: debt, deficit, government, independence, tea party
Posted in Uncategorized
Robert Principe, June 29th 2011 |
Tags: Budget, Fishkill, Local Taxes
Posted in Area Budgets
The Town of Fishkill Republican Committee has endorsed a slate of candidates that will bring a new set of ideas, a new thought process, and a breath of fresh air to politics in Fishkill. The Committee has nomiated Bob LaColla for Town Supervisor, Tony Curry and Kurt Buck for Town Councilman, Bob Rahemba and Harold Epstein for Town Judge, Glen Scofield for Highway Superintendent, and Ori Brachfeld and Jim Miccio for County Legislator.
The selection of Bob LaColla for Supervisor marks a turning point for the Committee and a drastic departure from the status quo. The state of the Town’s finances and results of a recent audit by the New York State Comptroller as well as a lack of cooperation among Town Board members has prompted a call for change.
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Todd, June 2nd 2011 |
Tags: election, Fishkill, lacolla
Posted in Uncategorized
