Ulster County, NY Vote Stronger for Trump Than for Romney

A comparison of the vote counts for Ulster County, NY (h/t Glenda R. McGee) reveals something interesting: The vote for Clinton was weaker than for Obama while the vote for Trump was stronger than for Romney. 

Ulster County is a mixture of two elements:  rural New Yorkers whose ancestors have lived in the region for generations and are chiefly Republican  and transplanted New York City refugees like me.  The New York City refugees are mostly Democratic. 

Clinton stimulated less interest among the New York City element than Obama had while Trump stimulated more than Romney had. However, the numbers in the region are now overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrats because of the demographic shifts. 

 2012 Ulster County Presidential Votes:

              Obama                              Romney

2012:     47,752                               29,759

               Clinton                              Trump

2016       44,597                               35,239

Source: Glenda R. McGee  

Hudson Valley Focus Interview Re Agenda 21

Tom Sipos interviewed me on Hudson Valley Focus concerning the Town of Olive's adoption of an Agenda 21-driven master plan.  Hudson Valley Focus airs on nine Clear Channel stations in the Hudson Valley.  The interview is about 25 minutes.  HV Focus airs on Saturday mornings between 6:30 and 8:00 on WRNQ, WBPM, WKIP, WGHQ, WPKF, WRWD, WLEG, WBWZ, and WRWC. The interview is linked here:

An Environmentalist Rant

The Kingston Freeman published my letter on August 28.

Dear Editor:

The Town of Olive is considering a comprehensive plan.  The motivation, debate and the plan itself reflect Olive’s, New York’s and America’s moral and consequent economic decline.

Supervisor Berndt Leifeld told a packed town meeting  and a well-attended Town Board meeting  that the plan need not be taken seriously because its chief purpose is to procure grant money.

Starting with a lack of integrity, the plan was drafted by a politically correct consultant from Beacon who parrots the superstitious and ideologically-driven radical environmental claims of the International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and Agenda 21, the globalist United Nations manifesto beloved by Goldman Sachs and DuPont.

The plan should not be so called. It is an environmentalist rant that proposes expensive projects such as a new community center and a new town hall without considering costs, benefits or the effects on taxpayers and homeowners.

More broadly, the plan follows Ulster County’s general commitment to excessive construction costs at the law enforcement center and Golden Hill Health Care facility (which, if authorized, will host 1 percent — 250 -- of Ulster County’s senior citizens at a cost of between $1,000 and $2,000 per Ulster County household -- of which there are about 67,000).

Given President Obama’s parlous economy, it is astonishing that  Leifeld has chosen to propose a reckless spending spree and crackpot regulatory binge without considering that since Congressman Hinchey’s election in 1991, Ulster County’s economy has grown at one third the national average.  The county’s high school and college graduates have been driven to move to states that would not consider ICLEI’s superstitious radical environmentalist claims.

Benjamin Franklin said that America would be a republic — if we can keep it.  The voters of Olive, Ulster County and the United States do not appear to be capable of  keeping a republican form of government.

MITCHELL LANGBERT

Agenda 21: Ignorance Is Not a State of Grace

Agenda 21 is a UN statement that, in 1992, was signed by the United States under the George H. Bush administration.  It advocates globalization, extreme environmentalism, and increasing the United Nation’s control over local governance. It is consistent with Congressman Maurice Hinchey’s proposal to turn Ulster County  into a federal park and with increasing Wall Street’s control of water rights, farm land, and local governance.  It can be read at http://www.un.org/esa/dsd/agenda21/.

Irene Pictures, Bushkill Creek Below Maltby Hollow

As I blogged earlier today, Hurricane Irene caused the Bushkill Creek to overflow onto our lawn, but before the overflow was sufficient to threaten the house, debris blocking a downstream bridge was loosened and the stream receded quickly.  I grabbed a camera as the stream was receding back to its banks. At its peak the stream was covering most of the lawn.

80 Attend First Mountain Tea Party Meeting

Early arrivals to the first Mountain Tea Party meeting

101st Assembly District candidate Don Wise

The first Mountain Tea Party meeting at the Phoenicia Rod and Gun Club was a success. Approximately 80 attended. Individuals from as far away as Delaware and Greene Counties joined in the festivities. Al Higgley donated hot dogs, and coffee and cookies were served. I gave out an article that I had written on the Obama administration's spending.  The Democratic Party's media claim that Obama is a moderate, but objective statistics show that he has radically increased spending.

Chris Johansen, chairman, opened the meeting with an overview. Chris requested participants to describe their concerns. Chief among these were excessive taxes, increasing government, New York State's ongoing decline, and a failed president. Attendees recognize that the socialist policies of the Obama administration and New York are the source of economic failure.

An African-American participant said that he attended because he was tired of being the only one he knows who is allowed to criticize President Obama. If anyone who is not African American criticizes Obama, this gentleman said, his supporters in the media accuse them of racism.  He said that it is a tragedy that the first African American president had to be a communist.  Glenda McGee added that Obama is not black--he's red.

The largest segment of the meeting consisted of Assembly candidate Don Wise's speech. Don made a number of excellent points and the audience seemed engaged. However, Don slipped toward a pro big government position, in the audience's opinions, when he said that taxes on cigarettes should be increased. Lively pro-freedom arguments kept the evening on track.  Historically, one of the great pro-freedom presidents, Martin van Buren, was born not too far from Shandaken in Kinderhook, NY. The pro-freedom legacy is still alive here.  Many in the audience are well versed in libertarian thinking. Few New Yorkers understand this line of thought and most lack the necessary open mindedness to educate themselves.

I had been expecting 30 attendees in our rural community.  80 surprised me, and much of the credit must go to Chris and Cindy Johansen.  As well, Paul Smart's article in  the Woodstock Times and Olive Press helped gain attention.

God bless the Tea Party and God bless the United States.