January Meeting

 

Former State Senator Dave Sullivan gave his insights on what's really going on in the State Capitol and what we can expect for the next four years. He gave us plenty of reason to support our current Republican legislators and seek out good candidates for the future.

The United States Army - 2006 Year In Photos

Here's a slideshow for your enjoyment. As you watch it, and hear the song "I'm a Soldier" reflect on the verse in the song that says "I will never accept defeat, this is not what you expect from me". Let's remember our commitment to the troops and their mission.

* * * * State of the Union 2007 * * * *

* * * * State of the Union 2007 * * * *
Feel free to post your comments on the President's speech. Do you feel the issues facing our country were adequately addressed and what do you think of the "bi-partisan spirit" in Washington right now?

Upcoming Events

MONDAY, JANUARY 29 6:00pm, 7:30pm
Board meets at Penny's home for spaghetti supper at 6pm followed by a 7:30 general meeting featuring State Sen. Dave Sullivan

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Ronald Reagan's Birthday!!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10 8:30 A.M.
Republicans of Wheeling Township meeting at HQ, 909 E. Rand Rd., Arlington Hts.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12
Abraham Lincoln's Birthday!!

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 11:30 a.m.
Our GOP Women's benefit luncheon featuring author Arthur C. Brooks at the Glen in Glenview

We support DA BEARS.....

Recently a talented friend and devoted Bears fan became involved in an exciting endeavor. Musician Joe Cantafio partnered with childhood friend and Chicago music producer John Steele to record a new music CD called "Bear Fight Songs" which has just hit the airwaves and stores in the Chicagoland area. Everyone's talking about it!
My personal favorite is the song "We Are Who You Thought We Were" which is based on coach Dennis Green's tirade earlier in the season. Joe's old friend Bill Archer of the "Big Bear Band" is also involved in the project, helping to create this unique collection that includes the old classic "Bear Down, Chicago Bears". The best talent in the Chicago area is part of this fun new CD.
Bears momentum is building with this weekend's playoff game against the New Orleans Saints and THIS CD is a MUST HAVE for any true Bears fan. To hear clips of the CD, watch video and learn more background on the project please visit www.bearfightsongs.com.
Purchase this one of a kind CD at your local Jewel-Osco, Best Buy, 7-11 and online.

Roskam Reception

Several of our Republican women attended a reception for newly elected 6th District Congressman Peter Roskam. Upon arrving,the reception line extended from the entryway doors into the banquet room. The event was very well attended. Congressman Roskam with wife and family by his side, greeted constituents, officials and supporters. A short video of the swearing-in ceremony of the 110th Congress was shown. The Congressman then reviewed the campaign,thanked supporters and shared stories of his new experiences and orientation in Washington. This included a welcome visit to the White House and meeting with the President. A special friend played guitar and sang songs reminiscent of the campaign trail. The reception continued until all congratulations were extended.

2006 ROWT Highlights

First ROWT Meeting of 2007

Come and join Republicans of Wheeling Township Saturday morning January 13th at 8:30 a.m. Tom Roeser, Chicago area political commentator & WLS Talk host and Congressman Mark Kirk will be our guests.
Be there by 8:45 to try for the on-time attendance prize. Bring friends, neighbors, voters from your precinct.
Visit rowtgop.org for further information.

Remember the Troops this Christmas

Download LTCWhiteFinalProduct_300k.wmv

Menu for the 2006 White House Holiday Receptions

Ladies, need some tasty ideas for your holiday meals? Take a look at what is being served at the White House this season:


Holiday Buffet Reception

Display of Specialty Cheeses and Winter Fruits (Served with a Bountiful Display of Lavish Specialty Crackers and Spiced Pecans)
Colossal Shrimp Cocktail and Jonah Crab Claws (Served with Ramsey's Cocktail Sauce and Spiced Remoulade)
Stuffed Turkey Breasts with Winter Mushrooms, Cheese and Brandied Cranberries
Sugar Cured Virginia Ham with Hot Pepper Mustard (Served with Warm Blue Corn Muffins)
Chicken Fried Beef Tenderloin with White Onion Gravy (Served with Tiny Icebox Rolls)
Herb Roasted Lollipop Lamb Chops served with Warm Yeast Rolls Honey Cup Mustard Sauce
Fresh Tamales with Tomatillo Sauce and Black Beans
Baked White Cheddar Farfalle
Sweet Potato Souffl
Asparagus Tier with Lemon-Garlic Aioli
Golden and Crimson Beet Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Feta
Holiday Reception Desserts
Cookies:
Chocolate Peppermint Cookies with Peppermint Crunch
Pecan Sandie Tree (Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes) with Layers of Cookies
Holiday Ornamental Cookies
Barney
Miss Beazley
Christmas Trees
Snowflakes
Candy Canes
Other Specialities:
Red Hat Box Mascarpone Cake White Pound Cake with Mascarpone Cream Filling, Red Marzipan Frosting and Red Ribbon Bow Decoration
Coconut Cake Coconut Chiffon Cake, Coconut Pastry Cream Filling and 7 Minute Meringue Frosting
Chocolate Roulade (Christmas Log) Soft Ganache Frosting with a Chocolate Sponge, Meringue Mushrooms, Magnolia Leaves in White Chocolate, Raspberries
Mini Tartlettes Pecan Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Orange Chiffon and Chocolate Boston Cream Pie
Chocolate Truffles Homemade, Bittersweet Chocolate, Ganache
Long Stem Strawberries with Dark Chocolate Dipping Sauce
Warm MacIntosh Apple Cobbler With Oatmeal Crumble
Pumpkin Trifle Spiced Pumpkin Mousse with Whipped Cream and Shaved Dark Chocolate

Let's hope for a good start to President Bush's 2007 exercise and running program!!

Mailroom Preps for Holiday Rush

KIRKUK — Soldiers work at a world-class pace to sort and prepare packages at the Warrior Post Office here during the holiday season.While mail arrives by plane to Forward Operating Base Warrior four times a week during the rest of the year, the post office, which occupies a former dining facility for Iraqi Olympic athletes, now sometimes receives mail twice a day.
The troops of the 747th Adjutant General Company Postal, a reserve unit from Helena, Mont., sort and distribute the mail to 23 units on FOB Warrior and other surrounding FOBs. The units include other military services and civilians who work on the bases.
“We normally receive about 40,000 pounds of mail per week,” said 2nd Lt. Malise Hamper, postal officer in charge. “That’s expected to increase by 50 percent over Christmas.”
The Warrior Post Office provides all the same services that a post office in the United States offers, Hamper said. They also work extended hours to ensure units traveling from other FOBs are able to pick up mail for their Soldiers.
None of the reservists were postal specialists before their current deployment. However, they have combined their previous military and civilian experience to create a more efficient sorting system than the one they took over in September.
Just in time for the rush season, they are near completion on a new mail bin system patterned after a commercial express mail deliverer.
Staff Sgt. Nathan Brasel, postal operations noncommissioned officer in charge, designed the new sorting system.
“There was a lot of wasted space in the old shelving structure,” Brasel said. “The overflow mail ended up on the floor and had to be sorted again, delaying Soldiers getting their mail.”
The new system, built by the Warrior Post Office Soldiers, includes an additional 36 square feet for each bin, ensuring that each unit’s mail is able to be organized in one spot as it comes in.
“All the mail is important,” said Master Sgt. Brett Hardcastle, post office noncommissioned officer in charge. “But … there are official documents, pieces of mail that may affect a Soldier’s career. It’s important to get that out as quickly and efficiently as possible.”
To help get mail out quicker, extra hands from around the FOB pitch in to assist with sorting. Volunteers, including a regular group of FOB Warrior firefighters, show up at the post office every time a delivery comes in.
“We would get the sorting done, but without their help, it would take four or five times as long,” Hardcastle said.
For a long time, deployed Soldiers have counted on the lift in spirits that receiving mail delivers. That touch of home is more imperative during the holidays.
“E-mail is one thing. But a letter that your spouse or family has touched is special,” said Brasel. “You can’t measure the morale boost and the contribution to the mission after Soldiers receive that mail.”

December Meeting

Join us on Monday, December 11th at 7:30 pm at GOP HQ for our election of officers for 2007. Come with your ideas for the coming year, a dozen of your favorite cookies and Christmas ornament(s) that our club will to send to Louisiana as holiday remembrance gifts for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Feel free to bring a friend to the celebration!

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving meal served by soldiers to fellow soldiers in Iraq. Let us remember all of our troops who are far from home and serving around the globe.

I Am A Republican Because

I BELIEVE the strength of our nation lies with the individual and that each person’s dignity, freedom, ability and responsibility must be honored.
I BELIEVE in equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, sex, age or disability.
I BELIEVE free enterprise and encouraging individual initiative have brought this nation opportunity, economic growth and prosperity.
I BELIEVE government must practice fiscal responsibility and allow individuals to keep more of the money they earn.
I BELIEVE the proper role of government is to provide for the people only those critical functions that cannot be performed by individuals or private organizations and that the best government is that which governs least.
I BELIEVE the most effective, responsible and responsive government is government closest to the people.
I BELIEVE Americans must retain the principles that have made us strong while developing new and innovative ideas to meet the challenges of changing times.
I BELIEVE Americans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to extend peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.
FINALLY, I believe the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government.

Thank You Veterans

 

Bush Reaffirms U.S. Commitment to Troops

Friday, 10 November 2006
By Donna MilesAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — America stands committed to its military members, to the Iraqis and to victory in the war on terror, President Bush said today during a White House news conference following yesterday’s elections and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation today.
“Amid this time of change, I have a message for those on the front lines,” Bush said. “To our enemies, do not be joyful. Do not confuse the workings of our democracy with a lack of will,” he said. “Our nation is committed to bringing you to justice. Liberty and democracy are the source of America's strength, and liberty and democracy will lift up the hopes and desires of those you are trying to destroy.” The president also offered assurances to the Iraqi people that the United States won’t abandon them. “To the people of Iraq: Do not be fearful,” he said. “As you take the difficult steps toward democracy and peace, America's going to stand with you. We know you want a better way of life, and now is the time to seize it.” The president also expressed reassurance to members of the armed forces. “To our brave men and women in uniform: Don't be doubtful,” he said. “America will always support you. Our nation is blessed to have men and women who volunteer to serve and are willing to risk their own lives for the safety of our fellow citizens.” Bush acknowledged that yesterday’s election results send a message that many people would like to speed up the timetable for bringing the troops home. “I'd like our troops to come home too, but I want them to come home with victory,” he said. He defined that victory as an Iraq “that can govern itself, sustain itself and defend itself” and said he believes that the American people agree. “I recognize that many Americans voted last night to register their displeasure with the lack of progress being made there,” he said. “Yet, I also believe most Americans and leaders here in Washington from both political parties understand we cannot accept defeat. “And so I'm committed to victory,” he said. “I'm committed to helping this country so that we can come home.” Yesterday’s election “has changed many things in Washington, but it has not changed my fundamental responsibility, and that is to protect the American people from attack,” Bush said. “As the commander in chief, I take these responsibilities seriously. And so does the man who served this nation honorably for almost six years as our secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld.” Bush vowed to work with both parties in Congress to ensure the best path forward for the country. He expressed optimism that although people’s approaches may differ, they share a basic goal that transcends party lines. “No leader in Washington is going to walk away from protecting the country,” he said. He called the war on terror “a tough fight,” but assured the American people, “we’re going to win that fight.”

Troops Extend Helping Hand to Town

Friday, 27 October 2006
By Spc. Chris McCann2nd BCT PAO, 10th Mtn. Div.

RUSHDI MULLA — The first few were hesitant, coming in by ones and twos, but soon the floodgates opened and the citizens here came from all over town to receive medical care for a variety of ailments Oct. 19 at a Multi-National Division – Baghdad medical operation. The Soldiers of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, conducted the medical operation to get an idea of what medical supplies the town needed and to determine what clinics and health care providers were available in the area.“It’s what we came to do, besides taking care of our own,” said Spc. Carrielynn Spillis, a native of Toledo, Ohio, and a medic with Company C, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, attached to 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment. “It’s nice being able to come here and help them.”Kazar, a resident of Rushdi Mullah, brought his cousin’s son, Mustafa, to the operation to have the 1-year-old boy’s hand treated for an injury.Medics washed it, applied antibacterial ointment and explained, through an interpreter, that each finger would have to be wrapped separately to keep them from healing together.

Maj. Casey Geaney of Ashland, Wisc., Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment (right) and Capt. Richard Galgon (left), both doctors with Company C, 210th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, examine Iraqi children. Spc. Chris McCann, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs.“I’m glad the Americans came to help,” Kazar said.“We’re planning treatment … to provide for local civilians in the area,” said Sgt. Jason Lane, a medic with 4-31 Inf. Regt. “We had a very good turnout, didn’t see anything too extreme, and we have a better idea of what to expect in this area.”“Initially they were fairly timid,” he said. “By the end of the operation, they were more personable, particularly the children.”The Soldiers brought bags of toys – everything from plush animals to squeezable rubber ducks, which seemed to transcend the language barrier and brought smiles.Initially, the operation was announced over loudspeakers throughout the neighborhood; but after a poor showing to start the operation, Soldiers went door-to-door to get the word out. “When we did the foot patrol with announcements, we saw a huge change (in turnout),” said Maj. Robert Griggs, a native of Colusa, Calif., and plans officer for 4-31 Inf. Regt. It wasn’t only the medics that made the operation work.“We went out to distract the enemy so the medics could act,” said Pfc. James Cook, Company D, 4-31 Inf. Regt. “We set up three traffic control points to search vehicles and patrolled the areas … It was all quiet.”“We kept an eye on things to make sure Soldiers didn’t get hurt. We all came back in one piece. It was a good patrol,” said Pfc. Samuel Rhodes, also of Co. D.“It’s a positive step in the war on terror,” said 1st Lt. Aaron Brooks, of Syracuse, N.Y., medical platoon leader, 4-31 Inf. Regt. “The Iraqis trust us enough to seek health care, and we are willing to give it in any way possible. … The end state should be that we help support the Ministry of Health to do its own medical operations.”

You're Invited on Monday, October 30

Maureen Murphy will conduct a Property Tax Appeal Workshop for you and your neighbors at HQ on Monday, Oct. 30, 7 p.m. sharp, hosted by Republican Women of Wheeling Township. Maureen is our commissioner on the Board of (Tax) Review and is seeking re-election. But the reason she’s coming out to do this workshop is that the Board of Review will be opening the books on Wheeling Township in November, giving us property taxpayers a crack at appealing our assessments. Free of charge, of course, and open to all. Pass the word and bring your tax bill!

First in A Series: Progress In Iraq

This is the first of many regular reports coming from the Multinational Force in Iraq. We are daily bombarded with negative images. Still, there ARE good things being accomplished. Turn on your nightly news and you rarely hear about those. The perception needs to change and the positive that is occuring is what will be emphasized.

Two schools reopen in Kirkuk

Saturday, 14 October 2006
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Government officials and Coalition Force members celebrated the reopening of two schools in Kirkuk Oct. 12. The renovations were part of a broader civil affairs program and will serve as a model for other area schools.
Musalla Secondary School students proudly hung their country and school flags on the newly-painted walls of their refurbished school in preparation for a ceremony attended by local officials.
The secondary school and a city elementary school are the first of six renovations under the program, which includes construction of new science labs with computers. Students can also look forward to new school supplies donated from the U.S., and other essential materials such as computer desks provided by a nongovernmental agency.
“These schools were developed to set the example for Kirkuk,” said Maj. Paul Beekman, team chief, 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion. “The Board of Education can go in and look at the schools and the equipment, and emulate it throughout the region.”
The Commander’s Emergency Response Program funds the plan and was officially authorized by congress. Officials contracted local Iraqis to complete the work during the summer while students were out of school.
Students and teachers alike are praising the new developments and anticipate heavy use of the science lab and other equipment.
“The school looks brand new and the environment will enable the students to be more focused,” said a science teacher through an interpreter. “The lab is a big improvement, allowing the students to learn hands-on.”
Musalla students were previously confined to small classrooms which limited the science projects they could work on. The new lab was designed with bigger rooms so that more students can get involved, Beekman said.
Col. Patrick T. Stackpole, commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, joined the governor of Kirkuk and local education officials at the ceremony marking the reopening of the schools.
Col. Stackpole told students assembled in front of him they are their country’s greatest resource.
“This is the best day I’ve had in Iraq,” he said. “Being the future of Iraq, take this opportunity and I hope to see some of you up here (on stage) someday.”
(Courtesy of 5th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)
In other developments throughout Iraq:
A tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen led Iraqi policemen to a vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device in Baghdad’s Al-Bayaa district Wednesday afternoon.
Iraqi Security Force defeated a complex attack in Mosul Thursday night with the aid of ground Forces.

Reform on the Horizon

We have high hopes of putting an end to taxes, corruption and government waste here in Illinois. That is why we will be voting for candidates Timothy O. Schneider for Cook County Commisioner (pictured left) and Tony Peraica for Cook County Board President (pictured right) Both men will strive to bring honest government to Illinois and we believe we're overdue for that kind of change. Find out more about these candidates and how you can help them at www.votetony06.com and www.schneider2006.com