Dave Battaglia wins big in Armstrong County Commissioners race

Samantha and I were thrilled to be sharing in the celebration when Dave received the phone calling telling him he was the top vote-getter on the Republican ticket.  Coroner Bob Bower came in second, unseating both of the incumbents -- Jim Scahill with 20 years in office and Patty Kirkpatrick with 8.   News reports attributed the sweep to an anti-incumbent mood in the county; however, I feel certain that Dave won because of his pro-business stance and his belief that a county should be run as a business and expected to be productive.  For his hopes to see business and population growth returning, it's going to be important that conservatives get out to vote in November and keep Republican control in the County Commissioner's offices!  To follow Dave's campaign to victory in November, click here!

County Commissioners election results for Armstrong Co May 17 2011

How did your Representative Vote on Pension Bill 2497?

Commonwealth Foundation is the best place to get information you can trust and that will tell you the economic impact of what's going on in Harrisburg.  Check to see how your House Representative voted at the link below.  According to CF the Pension Bill approved in the House and sent on to Governor Rendell to sign "will delay payments into the pension fund.  What this means is that, compared to current law, taxpayers will now pay $12 billion less over the next 10 years, then $19 billion MORE over the next 14.  This is essentially pushing the costs onto the next generation. And this depends on 8% return on invesment, which is a rosy scenario"   This is like not paying your credit card bill for years! 

See how your legislator voted.


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In the 60th District where I live, Rep Jeff Pyle voted yes and sent out an email to keep his constituents informed, in which he writes:

“I was pleased the speaker called the House back into session so that we could get this bill to the governor’s desk,” Pyle said. “Without changes to the current pension systems, taxpayers throughout the 60th District were faced with significant increases in their school property tax bills to help school districts fund investment losses. State government must take actions that protect taxpayers and this bill accomplishes this goal.”

Under House Bill 2497, changes that would be made to the pension systems include:

• Elimination of the lump sum option, which permits retiring employees to withdraw all of their contributions, while receiving a monthly benefit.
• Raises the retirement age from 60 to 65 for state employees and from 62 to 65 for school employees.
• Increases the vesting period from five years to 10 years.
• Reduces the benefit multiplier from 2.5 percent to 2 percent and from 3 percent to 2 percent for lawmakers, while maintaining the employee contribution rate of 6.25 percent for state employees and 7.5 percent for school employees.
• Capping the retirement benefit under the new plan at the member’s pre-retirement salary, regardless of how many years of service.
• Reduces the liabilities amortization period from 30 years to 24 years.
• Creation of a “shared risk” provision, which would shift investment losses to the employee instead of solely being borne by the taxpayer. The employee’s contribution would be adjusted periodically to reflect any poor investment performance by the fund.

“The changes included in this legislation will only apply to new state and school district employees. Contrary to many reports, those who are currently employed or retired will not be affected in any way,” Pyle said. “These changes will help the long-term health of the pension system to ensure that both funds are able to meet their future obligations.”

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Fortunately Governor-elect Tom Corbett is said to be in favor of a 401-K type solution and I see that the Republican leadership, Mike Turzai and Sam Smith, both voted NO on this bill, which is a good sign.  I just hope that a lot of money is not wasted in implementing this legislation after Governor Rendell signs it and before real pension reform measures can be enacted!  I would say that letters of appreciation to the 31 representatives who did vote NO on this bill would be a good idea!

CF Reports "Lame Duck PA Legislature Passes Pension Bill 2497"

HARRISBURG, PA — The Commonwealth Foundation expressed disappointment with today's passage of House Bill 2497, which defers significant pension costs on to future generations while failing to adequately reform the state's largest defined benefit pension systems.
"We attempted to bring fiscal sanity to the pension discussion, but the reality was that self-interested unions were successful in drowning out the voice of the taxpayers," said Matthew J. Brouillette, president and CEO of the Commonwealth Foundation.  "Despite arguments to the contrary, this bill didn't 'save' the taxpayers any money.  Taxes will still be going up with this 'reform' next year—$646M more just to pay for PSERS and SERS—and every year thereafter.  But it did prevent moving new employees into a Defined Contribution plan—a major victory for labor unions like PSEA, AFSCME and SEIU."
"Yet we remain hopeful that a new administration and new legislature will begin the process of fully reforming Harrisburg to protect the taxpayers in the future," said Brouillette.  "Many lawmakers voted for HB 2497 as the 'first step' to pension reform.  We look forward to working with lawmakers who understand this cannot be the final action, and with new leaders who understand the need for real pension reform and controlled spending."

# # #

The Commonwealth Foundation (www.CommonwealthFoundation.org) is an independent, non-profit public policy research and educational institute based in Harrisburg, PA.

Email Notification from PA Family Institute re vote on pension bill

Caution: ‘Lame-Duck' Session Ahead. State House Democrats called for one last voting day on Monday, November 15. Many Democrats and some Republicans are applauding this decision, stating that they will vote on an “important” pension reform bill. According to our friends at the Commonwealth Foundation, this bill is nothing more than a union pension bailout and does nothing but defer costs, creating a greater tax burden on the next generation. You can learn more from the Commonwealth Foundation. Legislators should wait until the new session begins and a real reform bill can be created to fix the state pension system. Note: So-called lame duck sessions are ripe for mischief because they allow lawmakers who are leaving office (by retirement or losing re-election) to cast votes for which they will not be accountable to the voting public!

More at --
http://www.patownhall.com/article.php?id=5599

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/policyblog/detail/action-alert-help-stop-the-union-pension-bailout

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.org/policyblog/detail/pileggi-ignores-support-for-real-pension-reform

House GOP Leadership Election Results Nov 9 2010 (117 pm)

House GOP Leadership Election Results

 

November 9, 2010, 1:17 pm

House Republican Leadership Results:
Speaker: Sam Smith (R-Jefferson)
Leader: Mike Turzai (R-Allegheny)
Appropriations Chairman: Bill Adolph (R-Delaware)
Whip: Stan Saylor (R-York)
Policy Chair: Dave Reed (R-Indiana)
Caucus Administrator: Dick Stevenson (R-Mercer)
Caucus Chair: Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna)
Caucus Secretary: Mike Vereb (R-Montgomery)

More information at --
http://www.paindependent.com/todays_news/detail/republican-caucus-chooses-smith-turzai-saylor-as-new-house-leaders

Voting Results for Pennsylvania and Individual Counties

State and County Election Results

November 2, 2010

South Buffalo East - Voting Statistics for Nov 2 2010 Election

57.13% of all registered voters cast their ballot!  I suspect this was an historic turnout!  There are 954 registered voters in our precinct, and 545 ballots were cast!

42 Democrats voted straight party
140 Republicans voted straight party

In the Senatorial race -- (531 votes were cast)
154 votes were cast for Dem Joe Sestak (29%)
374 votes were cast for Rep Pat Toomey (70.43%)

In the Governor/Lt Gov race -- (535 votes were cast)
134 votes were cast for Dem Onorato/Conklin (25.05%)
399 votes were cast for Rep Corbett/Cawley (74.58%)
There were also 2 write in votes

Representative for the Congressional District 12 -- (531 votes cast)
168 votes were cast for Dem Mark S. Critz (31.64%)
360 votes were cast for Rep Tim Burns (67.80%)
There were also 3 write in votes

Representative for the 60th District in the PA General Assembly (536 votes cast)
106 votes cast for Dem Jo Ellen Bowman (19.78%)
427 votes were cast for Rep Jeff Pyle (79.66%)

All of the high vote winners in all categories also won statewide with one exception.
Tim Burns won in South Buffalo as well as in Armstrong County, but lost statewide to Mark Critz.

Tom Shaffer, Former Campaign Manager, for Rep Jeff Pyle Charged with Embezzling Funds

This article (http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/leadertimes/news/s_707734.html)will be of interest to those in the 60th PA district. Rep Jeff Pyle informed Armstrong County GOP committee members last night, Nov 4th, at their monthly meeting. He is interested in learning of any checks constituents wrote to People for Pyle as they may have been misappropriated by his former campaign manager.

Do Some Thing!

If you are a conservative in South Buffalo Township, and want to be celebrating after the voting on November 2nd, I encourage you, "Talk to your neighbor." It's quite likely he's a conservative too! I remember back in the primary race, how many folks were outside and watching me knocking on doors and realizing they were surrounded by other Republicans. I had people asking, "So my neighbor is a Republican? I never knew." It was actually pretty exciting. And this time around, I'm talking to Democrats occasionally too and discovering some who are conservative as well. I did have one unique experience yesterday, when I stopped to ask a Republican neighbor if she'd let me put up some signs, and she said "No, she was voting with her union."

Well, I can understand that. I guess if I had a pension and felt it might end up on the chopping block, I'd be worried too. Tough fiscal problems are all around us. I believe conservatives, especially those like Pat Toomey, will have the knowledge and wisdom to find the best solutions. And, Jeff Pyle, in his debate against opponent Jo Ellen Bowman, made an interesting statement that he had come to feel the size and expense of the legislature in PA needed trimming. (Considering we have the second most expensive one in the nation, I was glad to hear that!) I'd love to see Jeff really tackling that!

Yesterday, I mailed out almost 100 postcards to South Buffalo neighbors and knocked on a number of doors, put up 12 signs, and had four men volunteer to work the poll on Tuesday! Hand-delivered supplies to other committee people, and helped with some other coordination, and worked the phone for a while.

All of us can do something. If you want to do something but feel you need a little help, training, moral support, materials? Just ask! For the first time in my lifetime, I am seeing the grassroots come alive! You want to be part of this, not an onlooker!

Big Government - Not the Solution

At Center for American Heritage Peg Luksik shows what's wrong with the Democrats depiction of the evil rich vs the poor and needy and how government entitlement programs are never the solution to real people's problems.  --

It’s Magic

On October 25, 2010, in From the Kitchen Table, by peg

The woman was a single mother with two small children.  Her husband had decided that he didn’t want to be a father anymore and had left for parts unknown.  She worked two part time jobs and made just enough to avoid the welfare system.
Autumn arrived.  The tank on her oil furnace needed to be filled for the winter.  She filled out all the paperwork for energy assistance.  When her application was processed, she got a call from her case worker telling her that she did not qualify.  She made too much money to get help.
The woman was dumbfounded.  She asked what the income limit was.  The case worker quoted the number from the government chart.  The woman was over the limit by $1.00.  There would be no help provided, unless of course she wanted to quit her jobs, go a month with no income, and then re-apply.
Welcome to the wonderful world of government entitlement programs.
When the government talks about these programs, it always couches them in terms of how the evil rich owe their surplus income to the poor.  The proponents talk about millionaires who greedily hoard their fortunes while their neighbors go without the necessities of life.  The rhetoric is always emotional and the stories are always moving.
Until you actually begin working in the programs.
Then you find that they have “income guidelines” that determine who gets help and who doesn’t.  It does not matter where the income is obtained.  The only thing that matters is that the applicant meet the standard.
It’s like a government version of “Let’s Make a Deal”, where the contestant who gets the closest to the price without going over it wins.  In the program, people will bid one dollar lower, or higher, than their competitor in an effort not to cross the price line.
The government is more exact because pennies count.  So a person who makes $9,999.99 may qualify, while a person who makes $10,000 will be judged ineligible.  Who would have thought that the difference between rich and poor in America is one penny?
That penny must be magic.
The inevitable result of that magic penny is to deter people from trying to move up the economic scale.  A mom, faced with the choice between going onto the welfare rolls to have heat in her house or continuing to work several jobs but watching her children freeze, is going to choose welfare every time.
It wasn’t always this way.  When help was provided by churches and local benevolent organizations, decisions were made on a case-by-case basis.  The person needing help entered into a relationship with those providing it, and effort was generally rewarded.  Additional assistance was offered when necessary, in amounts that were appropriate to enhance the person’s efforts at achieving independence.
We are hearing mountains of rhetoric as this year’s campaign season winds down about the importance and necessity of maintaining all the government entitlement programs.  One wonders if the people doing the speaking have ever stood in the shoes of our young mother who just found out that the help those programs give to anyone who is actually trying to build a life is based on a magical penny.

 

Rep Jeff Pyle and Democratic challenger Jo Ellen Bowman debate

Kittanning Paper reports:   Indiana/Armstrong Patriots sponsored the debate on Oct 21 for the candidates for the PA House 60th District Seat

We are an organization of almost 500 residents of Indiana County and Armstrong County, who trust and believe in the United States Constitution as the overriding authority for our government. Further, we believe that our government has neglected and ignored the stipulations of the United States Constitution. We are dedicated to seeing the Constitution restored to its proper place as the Supreme Law of the Land. We will work to that end as responsible citizens. We invite any and all others who believe that our nation has strayed from the original intent and focus of the Constitution to join with us to return the Constitution to its intended purpose as the guarantor for our liberty, our freedom, and our prosperity.  www.indianaarmstrongpartiots.com or check us out on facebook!

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Join us for a Debate between

 Candidates for PA District 60 –

 Republican Jeff Pyle, and Democrat, Jo Ellen Bowman

At Smith Complex, Home of the Indiana/Armstrong Patriots

October 21^st, 2010 @ 7:00 pm

Directions to Smith Complex.  The address for the Smith Complex is 2340 Smith Road, Shelocta, Pa 15774 (for those of you who have a GPS). Coming from Indiana, take 422 West going towards Kittanning for about 9 miles. When you enter Elderton, at the Second intersection (Where Sandwich House and Elderton Market is) make a left turn going onto Girty Road. Stay on there for about 1 mile, when you come to a fork that says Smith Road, go straight onto Smith Road.  At the fork you will see a sign that says Smith Complex.  The Smith Complex is the third driveway on the left side.  There will be another Smith Complex sign on a pole.

And Join us again on

October  24^th, 2010 @ Smith Complex

"In God We Trust" Prayer Revival

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Compares Senatorial Candidates and 12th District House Runners

VoteEasy by Votesmart Compares Candidates

Don White introduces bill to limit abortion funding in Pa under healthcare reform

Of course, Planned Parenthood, my source for this info is not happy about this, but I applaud Senator White for his pro-life position!

Take a Look at the Ballot for November - just plug in your zip code and street address at the end of this post

Dear Citizen Voter,

This may well be the most important election in our lifetime. Please consider voting on November 2nd for our conservative Republican candidates. We’ve had enough “hope and change”, now we hope for change!

Remaining the richest country in the world, it’s clear that revenue is not our problem! Spending and the over-extension of government are strangling liberty and free enterprise for the rich, the middle class, and the poor! So spend what you have – your vote – on November 2nd and spend it wisely to fill Harrisburg and Washington with our Republican candidates who are committed to protecting life and resources for our use and not theirs!

The most valuable thing we have to spend for the future is our Vote. Join us by Voting for Conservative Republicans and send a message that PA and Armstrong County are Hoping for Change!

In South Buffalo Township, here is your slate of conservative candidates:





2010 Republican Statewide Candidates
(GO TO: http://www.pagop.org/officials/judges.aspx)
*****Pat Toomey for US Senate
Tim Burns for US Congress
(12th Congressional District )
Tom Corbett for Governor of PA
Jim Cawley for Lt Governor

PA 60th District
(http://www.pyle2010.com/)
Jeff Pyle for State Representative 

Click Here for "MY BALLOT"  And, Vote Smart! 

 

Organizing America - Here's their strategy, what's yours?

As strange as it may seem, I somehow am included on OA's mailing list. Today, I received an email from David Plouffe with their campaign marching orders.
I thought many of you might be interested, especially in the fact that what they say is the most important thing you can do to get Democrats elected is to go and talk to your friends, your family, your co-workers and your neighbors. We need to print out their marching orders at the links they provide and counter every one of their claims!

Are you familiar with Glen Beck's 9/12 Project? If you saw the program when he introduced it, you know what he told Americans to do. He said go talk to your neighbors, sit down around the kitchen table and talk - talk to the same people to whom OA is saying "talk to them." Who will be more motivated to do this? Will it be conservative Americans, the ones who believe the Constitution and the principles contained in it and our Declaration of Independence are a sufficient basis for our government and that those principles are eternal and inalienable?

Here's the text and links contained in today's email, can we counter it? Can we talk to more people than Organizing America and ACORN can talk to?

Email from David Plouffe, Sept 12 2010:
Over the next two months, Organizing for America volunteers like you will talk to millions of voters about what's at stake this fall.
Our Vote 2010 goals are ambitious -- but meeting them is the only way President Obama will be able to continue moving our country forward with strong allies in Congress.
We know these one-on-one conversations are incredibly effective. In 2008, volunteers like you turned out millions of voters -- many for the first time. And in our increasingly fractured digital environment -- when so much competes for our time and attention -- conversations between friends, family members, and neighbors remain the most trusted and impactful method of political persuasion.
I have a tremendous amount of confidence in this strategy -- and you -- because I saw how it changed politics in 2008. You connected personally with more voters than any campaign in history -- and we won.
This year, the strategy is the same.
That's why we've put together resources to guide you in your conversations with voters this fall. It's time to get back out there and deliver our message again.

Check out these resources and gear up for the election season/

Now and over the next 51 days, President Obama is forcefully taking on the Republicans and making this case to voters in cities across the country. But he can't deliver this message alone.
Republicans are desperately trying to take over Congress by threatening to repeal the historic changes we've achieved together. That's it. Even if they weren't funded largely by special interests, theirs would be one of the most cynical campaigns I've seen in my decades of working in politics.
We know what Republicans will do if they win back control. Their ideas -- out of touch and favoring special interests -- reveal not only an astonishing lack of understanding of the challenges facing middle-class families, but a party that can define itself only in its united opposition to progress. Returning to Bush administration policies that drove our economy into a recession is not leadership – it’s negligence.
Over the last year and a half, President Obama and Democrats in Congress have stabilized our financial system, ended insurance company abuses, invested in private sector jobs, cut taxes for middle-class families, and established the strongest consumer financial protections in history.
Republicans stood on the sidelines and said "no."
A party that refuses to participate in tackling the enormous challenges facing our country does not deserve to lead.
You know this. I know this. Now let's get out there and tell our communities.

Please print out these resources for your reference this fall:

http://my.barackobama.com/StartHere

Thanks,
David Plouffe

P.S. -- Exciting news: This month and next, we're holding five major Moving America Forward Organizing Rallies with President Obama in Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Nevada, and a special Commit to Vote Tele-Town Hall. Click here for more details.

A True Story - from a Blair County Republican, Lois Kaneshiki

Aug 5, 2010. Yesterday I began canvassing my neighborhood to register new voters.

One house I visited had no registered voters. I don't know the people well but I have spoken to the wife before and knew a little bit about them.

She answered and I asked her if they would like to register. She had never changed her address after moving (a couple years ago -- not uncommon) and her husband was not registered.

I offered to stay while she filled out her forms and I would take them in for her if she wanted. She invited me in and we all had a nice chat while she filled the forms out.

She asked her husband how he wanted to register and he said "Independent." (He was cooking dinner all the while.) I told him did he know that if he registered Independent he CANNOT vote in the Primary Election??

He did NOT know that. He registered REPUBLICAN.

How many Independents out there register that way because NO ONE TELLS THEM THEY CAN'T VOTE IN THE PRIMARY?

I felt very good about that visit and I am making a trip to the courthouse today to bring their forms in.

Can you imagine what we could accomplish if all the committee people were working their precincts?

Volunteers Needed for Door to Door Canvassing for Republican Slate

Back over a year ago, when Glenn Beck spoke of 9/12, the day after 9/11, when all Americans instinctively knew the right things to do to comfort and support one another, he suggested that people get to know their neighbors, sit down across the kitchen table and talk about what we believe. Out of this community building, he believed we could begin to rebuild our country. Fast forward past the 2008 election of Barack Obama and the dismantling of America as we had known her, and know that the 2010 elections are critical to bringing the nation back from its left leaning tilt before it completely topples.

The Republican Party is far from everything we would want it to be, but there are still "more of us" than there are of "them." By "them" I'm meaning people of power who are progressive, self-seekers who have not a clue about the sanctity of life and the eternal principles upon which this nation was founded and by which she brought light to the whole world. But we do, and we must be highly selective in who we vote for and we must show the world our power with a massively high voter turnout. We still do not have many candidates who stand apart in the way of the founding fathers, but within the Republican Party in our area, there are a few -- Pat Toomey, for example -- and the others are the best we have for now and will bring the tilting nation back towards the center at the least.

So, expect us to be knocking on your door and asking you not just to vote for our Republican slate but to join us in the campaign to bring PA and our nation back to the right!

Meanwhile, follow the candidates on the web and let others know of your support!

Joe Sestak -- On the wrong side of the plumb line -- as always

For Immediate Release—July 23, 2010

Toomey Calls on Sestak to Return Rangel Contributions and Hold Himself Accountable
Allentown – U.S. Senate candidate and former small business owner Pat Toomey called on Congressman Joe Sestak to live up to his own standard of accountability and return $12,000 in contributions from the ethically-challenged Rep. Charlie Rangel.
Yesterday, the bipartisan House Ethics Committee announced that Charlie Rangel is being charged with multiple ethics violations following a two-year investigation.
Over the past week, Congressman Sestak has refused to keep his pledge and return over $100,000 in contributions from people who received earmarks through his Congressional office, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
And so far, Congressman Sestak has refused to return at least $12,000 in donations from Rep. Rangel’s campaign committee and leadership PAC.

* Sestak accepted $2,000 from Rangel for Congress on September 18, 2006 (CQMoneyLine).
* Sestak accepted $5,000 from Charlie Rangel’s National Leadership PAC in 2008 (Open Secrets).
* Sestak accepted $5,000 from Charlie Rangel’s National Leadership PAC in 2006 (Open Secrets).

To make matters worse, Congressman Sestak has voted to back up the ethically challenged Rangel multiple times. When Sestak had the chance to save taxpayers $2 million and eliminate an earmark for the “Charlie Rangel Center for Public Service” in New York City, requested by Rep. Charlie Rangel, Congressman Sestak voted to keep the earmark (RC #678, 07/19/07). Now this “Charlie Rangel Center” is a subject of Rep. Rangel’s many ethics violations.
In addition, in October of 2009, Sestak voted against a measure to remove Rep. Rangel as chairman of the powerful Ways and Means Committee for the duration of the ethics investigation (RC #759, 10/07/09).
“Throughout the campaign, Congressman Sestak has spoken about accountability and putting principle over politics, but it is now becoming clear that his pledges and lofty promises are just hollow words from another Washington insider,” said Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik. “If Congressman Sestak is serious about holding himself accountable and putting principle over politics, he would return the $119, 650 he took in violation of his own pledge and he would return the $12,000 he took from Rep. Charlie Rangel.”

Paid for by Toomey for Senate

Trust and Obey ...for there's no other way...to be happy in Jesus...but to trust and obey

Know this song? When I came to a more mature faith as a college student, I remember singing this song to myself quite a bit, and it still comes to my mind when I'm faced with a choice between right and wrong. I wish politicians would learn to sing it to themselves, at least all who profess Christ as Lord and Savior. Our job is just to do the right things, God takes charge after that. Results are his business! But, we all tend to want to control the outcomes. And, some Christians in politics argue the most vehemently about it.

In this election cycle, in the PA gubernatorial race, the Republican State Committee decided to endorse Tom Corbett. I don't know exactly what their reasoning was; perhaps, they felt it was so important to win the seat back from the Democrats that they wanted to get ahead of the game with an endorsed candidate, throwing all of their support his way right from the start. The result, however, is that they lost about 30% (someone will surely correct me if I have this number wrong) of the vote. And, by putting State Party money into a critical mailer against his opponent, Sam Rohrer (a Republican Congressman for the past 18 years), in the final days of the campaign, they have engendered more opposition for Attorney General Corbett and disillusionment with the Party. In the current awakened state of the American voter, Republican voters clearly understand that an attempt was made to disenfranchise them in the Primary. They clearly understand that in the few days before the Primary, their Party, the Republican Party, aggressively campaigned against another Republican and that this was wrong.

Tom Corbett would probably have won the Primary. Now, there's a percentage of Republican voters waging a write-in campaign for Sam Rohrer. They are organized and hope they can spread the message of hope for our State that they see in Sam; at the least, they believe that it is as important to our State and Country to understand that any attempt to disenfranchise them will not be tolerated as it is to elect a Republican governor. This brings us back to the understanding of Trust and Obey. There's a plumb line that clearly divides right from wrong and you have to be on one side or the other of the line.