Daily Archives: October 23, 2013

10/23/13

Ukraine & Turkey: The European Energy Coup

Though Norway in June overtook Russia in total exports of natural gas to Europe, the balance of Russian gas to Europe comes through Ukraine, which itself is dependent upon Russia for 60% of its current gas consumption.

While Ukraine controls the transit of 90% of its gas to Europe, Russia is consistently trying to use its gas exports to Ukraine to gain greater control of the Ukraine transit system, which itself deems a strategic asset. The struggle for control of export to Europe and Ukraine’s own struggle to increase domestic production and move closer to Europe, with an European Association Agreement set to be signed in November this year, has put extreme stress not only on the energy independence of Ukraine but of Europe as a whole.

From an energy geostrategic standpoint, Europe needs Ukraine to move closer to Europe, “but for all its planning, Europe also knows retribution, in the shape of an energy squeeze, is likely from Russia.

Moscow, which has a long-standing disagreement with Ukraine over gas, has said it will raise Ukraine’s gas prices and officials do not rule out it doing the same for the EU, which gets nearly 40% of its gas from Russia. “The EU should not look at Ukraine as a business opportunity alone, particularly in light of currently lagging gas demand, but should examine the long-term future of European energy security and the key role Ukraine will continue to play in it. Partnership with the EU is not a silver bullet for the troubled Ukrainian energy sector, but it is certain to reduce the volatility of future pricing disputes and is perhaps the only solution that does not leave Ukraine’s fate entirely in Russian hands,” according to an article by Richard B Andres and Michael Kofman.

Ukraine has also done much in the past 18 months to increase its energy independence. Recent shale tenders with Shell and Chevron and with Exxon for the development of the Ukrainian Black Sea have the potential to greatly reduce the dependence Ukraine has on Russian exports and potentially for Europe as well. “While the full picture of unconventional gas is expected to be assessed in the coming years, the key to success, as is the case of Ukraine, is infrastructure. If the future of shale gas exploration is to be bright, a new infrastructure will have to be built to link the sources of unconventional gas with the grid to allow for the commercialization of the gas.

“To ensure that the Energy Community brings results, once operationalized the shale gas opportunity should be extended to the Eastern Neighborhood. It would allow the Eastern Neighborhood, in particular Ukraine, to create stronger bonds between the EU and the region and, as a result, galvanize stronger energy interdependence between the EU and Russia by stabilizing Ukraine’s internal energy supply,” according to a policy paper from the Black Sea Trust for Regional Cooperation (BST).

Coup in the Making?

In the past five years, there has been significant growth in Europe’s LNG import capacity; however, high LNG prices driven by Japanese demand, and the higher oil-linked price that LNG receives in Asia has diverted much of this supply from the European market.

An agreement between Ukraine and turkey for the transit of LNG through the Bosporus, as the gateway to the Black Sea, would be a major coup for European energy security. It would put downward pressure on current LNG prices due to the high demand and premium paid in Asia and would eventually provide Europe with cheap shale gas through a viable alternative marketplace.

It’s an idea developed by Robert Bensh, energy advisor to Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Yuriy Boyko, managing director of Pelicourt Limited and senior advisor for Cub Energy Inc., which operates in both Ukraine and Turkey.

The potential for LNG exports to Europe without a deal between Turkey and Ukraine for liquefied natural gas (LNG) through the Bosporus will fall flat, and Russia will continue to provide at least 30% of Europe’s natural gas through 2023.

“The European Union can and should play a more active role in shaping the Black Sea security environment. As a full regional player, it should promote cooperation on an equal footing, and refrain from acting as a sponsor as it does, for instance, in the Mediterranean. As a privileged partner of all countries of the region, the EU should use its bilateral relations with each of them, including Russia and Turkey, to contribute towards the emergence of a cooperative security environment in the Black Sea region,” according to a European Parliament briefing.

A CRS Report for US Congress agrees, stating: “Development of more liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport and reception facilities from distant suppliers, such as Nigeria, into Europe could be another course of action. Coupled with the development of new oil and gas pipelines could be an offer from NATO (and/or EU) members to provide security for energy infrastructure in periods of unrest or conflict in supplier and transit countries.

For both Ukraine and Turkey, such a deal would also be a political and economic coup of vast proportions, Bensh says.

For Ukraine, LNG is the key to energy independence. For Turkey, LNG is the key to becoming one of the most important energy hubs between the Middle East and Europe. In combination with the Trans-Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP), which will bring Azerbaijani gas from Shah Deniz through Turkey on to European markets, controlling the LNG segment through the Black Sea would give Turkey broader leverage than any other player in Europe. For both Ukraine and Turkey, it would mean greater access to the economic benefits of the European Union, control over Europe’s LNG market and a level of political leverage over the continent that would render both world-class strategic players.

The benefits to Ukraine and Turkey are significant:

Benefits to Ukraine

  • Independence from Russia
  • Greater access to the European Union, with Kiev able to be assertive on the terms
  • Political leverage in Washington, which is keen to see a Turkey-Ukraine LNG deal put through, especially one focused in part on Qatari gas as opposed to Iranian gas
  • Control of the European market for LNG
  • Economic prosperity by giving an edge to heavy gas-reliant industries
  • Strategic positioning and leverage that goes beyond Europe and into the Middle East/Gulf and especially between competitors Qatar and Iran

Benefits for Turkey

  • Control of the European LNG market
  • Rise as an energy hub between the Middle East and Europe, not just an energy transit country
  • Political leverage over Europe and access to the EU on Ankara’s terms
  • Political leverage with Washington
  • Strategic positioning as an energy hub that renders Turkey the decision-maker from Europe to the Middle East/Gulf
  • Diversification of supplies, with less reliance on Russian and Iranian deliveries, including from emerging African powerhouses such as Angola and Ghana

Timing is important, and the window of opportunity should be taken advantage of before new pipelines come online and while two of the world’s biggest gas players—Qatar and Iran—are in a desperate race to grab the European market. If an LNG agreement is solidified within this timeframe, it will dictate rather than serve as an afterthought to Europe’s gas future.

In this respect, Ukraine and Turkey together already have a certain amount of leverage at the negotiating table, particularly with respect to Qatari supplies, which are very eager to get to the wider European market. Timing is critical as Iran, suffering under economic sanctions that has caused widespread unemployment and a recession (the under 35 age group is thought to have unemployment of over 40%; a sobering thought in a period of Arab Springs) is attempting to have access to markets from which it currently is cut off from; and there is no better indication of this than the British government’s current reconsideration of the embargo on BP’s joint venture with the Iranian National Gas Company in the Rhum field. One additional factor in the conflict in Syria was, Qatari-versus-Iranian plans to run a pipeline through the country to Turkey, eyeing the European market.

In terms of critical timing, Ukraine and Turkey would be better positioned strategically were they to strike an LNG deal before the beginning of Phase Two production at Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field, and before TANAP begins operations. The price of LNG is more volatile due to the Asian market, and it would be more beneficial for LNG to secure this market, while natural gas futures for Shah Deniz supplies, which have already been contracted out for 25 years to nine European companies.

Another Black Sea LNG project—the Azerbaijan-Georgia-Romania Interconnector (AGRI) project—is also being delayed due to the perception that European demand is not ready for this project. This is a false perception that is driven by the Asian-driven LNG price spikes and the diversion of cargoes away from the European market. AGRI at present is languishing as it waits for the market to develop. This is an opportunity for a Ukraine-Turkey LNG agreement. The first to develop will control the market.

The AGRI project is hoping to transport natural gas from the Caspian region (primarily Turkmenistan) to Europe designed as a part of the Southern Corridor and as the shortest direct route for Caspian gas to European markets. If realized, AGRI would transport Azerbaijani LNG from Georgia, across the Black Sea, to an LNG terminal planned for construction on the Romanian Black Sea coast, then piped through to Hungary through the interconnector with Romania and then further into Europe.

Azerbaijan, Romania and Georgia signed the Memorandum of Understanding for this project in April 2010, but not much has happened since then. The project requires the construction not only of a regasification terminal in Romania, but also a liquefaction plant in Georgia.

Competition for this strategic positioning will come from the development of Mediterranean LNG projects, which could also be a game-changer for Europe. Potential projects here (Cyprus and Israel, first and foremost) remain uncertain, but if realized they would offer gas to high-demand Southeastern European markets with attractive pricing. In the absence of an LNG agreement between Ukraine and Turkey, Cyprus and Israel have the potential to capture the European market from the Mediterranean side. Timing is critical and the advantage will go to the players who recognize the opportunity to fill the long-term LNG supply gap that has been created by the diversion of cargo to Asia. Ukraine, has the potential to fill this gap and control the market.

LNG’S Role in European Energy Security

The European Market for LNG at a Glance:

  • Relative to 2011, LNG deliveries to the EU fell 31% in 2012, with imports from Qatar down 35%, Nigeria 31% and Algeria 18%, while imports to Asia have grown by up to 70%
  • So far for 2013, LNG deliveries are in line with this downward trend
  • For the first quarter of 2013, gas flowing out of LNG terminals into pipelines (LNG send-out to grids) in the UK, Netherlands and Belgium was down by 60% over the same period in 2012, and down 40% in France and 30% in Spain, Italy and Portugal
  • The average price of spot pipeline gas in Europe is around $10 per MMBtu, while the average spot LNG price is $11.40/MMBtu (there is a wide range of LNG pricing across Europe)
  • In Japan, LNG prices are about 40% higher (as of Q1 2013) than spot prices in the UK, for example

LNG in Europe, Present and Future

At the close of 2012, LNG accounted for 19% of Europe’s gas supply, while 81% was natural gas transported via pipeline.

The Fukushima disaster in Japan forced European countries to reconsider their nuclear policies, and this has forced a stronger focus on coal, natural gas and LNG. Before Fukushima, LNG was favored over natural gas because supplies were greater at that time and prices were cheaper than piped-in gas. As a result of the Fukushima disaster and Japan’s resultant eschewing of nuclear power reliance, is a run on LNG by Japan and other Asian nations who are willing to pay higher prices. This has driven LNG prices up and diverted supplies to the Asian market. In addition, it has caused fewer LNG development projects to be pursued in Europe. This translates into future gas shortages when LNG supplies can no longer meet growing Asian demand and when there is a lack of long-term LNG commitment in Europe. This is the critical window of opportunity in the market for Ukraine and Turkey. (There is a certain counter-intuitive momentum to be grasped here.)

Because Asia signs on to long-term LNG agreements with high, oil-linked prices, there are predictions that Europe will find itself with extremely restricted access to LNG in the near- to medium-term future, with a recovery in demand and a growing reluctance to rely on dirty coal for power generation.

This past decade has seen global LNG supplies double and regasification and shipping capacity triple. The exception is Europe, where Ukraine and Turkey are singularly positioned to take advantage of this LNG gap before demand picks up and the opportunity for strategic positioning is weakened.

The LNG market is set to expand globally over the next decade, and demand for LNG in Europe is most likely set to rise even without affecting natural gas supplies. Thus, TANAP and a Ukrainian-Turkish LNG agreement would work in tandem, not in competition, to control an even greater market share.

If Russia ends up building natural gas storage facilities in Turkey—an idea for which Gazprom expressed interest earlier this year—Turkey will lose its chance for maximum political leverage. This past winter, Gazprom redirected natural gas from its storage facilities in Europe after a spike in demand in Turkey. This prompted a Russian justification for potentially building storage facilities in Turkey ostensibly to come to the rescue when supplies are insufficient. In theory, though, this would represent an increased Russian energy footprint in Turkey that would negatively impact Turkey’s energy hub ambitions and would only help to solidify its dependence on Russian supplies, which amount to about 58% of Turkey’s total supplies. An LNG deal with Ukraine would give Turkey greater access to additional alternative supplies, and this, combined with an anticipated increase in Azerbaijani supplies from Shah Deniz will allow Turkey to become a true, diversified energy hub.

Qatar is heavily courting both Ukraine and Turkey for LNG through the Bosporus. From Qatar’s perspective, if Qatari LNG is allowed to pass through the Turkish-controlled Bosporus, this will deal a heavy blow to Iran. As such, Qatar recognizes Turkey’s role here as a key geopolitical power broker on the energy scene. Along this same line of thought, Qatar’s perception is that Russia is not capable at this time of preventing a Turkey-Ukraine energy deal focused on Qatari gas.

For Turkey, though, such a deal would allow it to further diversify its supplies, reducing reliance on both Russian and Iran—the latter which has been unreliable in terms of supplies over recent years.

Such a deal also further underlines the extent of political leverage Ukraine and Turkey would enjoy well beyond Europe, and into the Middle East.

Geopolitically, if Ukraine and Turkey were to bring Qatari gas through the Bosporus and on to European markets, this would help balance the power of a Russian-Iranian axis. It would reshape geopolitical dynamics, with Turkey the driving force through its strategic position as a Middle East-Europe energy hub.

Turkish and Ukrainian interest can either merge, or diverge to be counter-productive both to their gas supply needs and to European energy security. The perceptions of competition between Ukraine and Turkey are there, however, it is only through the combined, complementary force of the two that we will see a new energy powerhouse emerge.

LNG is the future, and globally we are looking at a major upswing in demand, including for Europe in the medium-to-long term.

As becomes clearer every year, pipeline gas delivery is hindered severely by economics and geopolitics. It limits room for consumer maneuvering, especially for those who are reliant on few, or single, sources. LNG can avoid much of these same hurdles, despite the investment cost associated with LNG facilities. There is a great deal of market flexibility to be found in LNG due to the absence of piping contracts.

LNG will become the key fuel of the future, and the forces that grasp the Black Sea market for LNG first will be among the most influential players on the global energy market. There is also the Black Sea marine industry to consider here, and the future is likely to see this converted to LNG—with new and converted transport vehicles and vessels running on LNG.

Source: http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Europe/Ukraine-Turkey-The-European-Energy-Coup.html

By: Oil & Energy Insider Analysts

This report is part of Oilprice.com‘s premium publication Oil & Energy Insider. Oil & Energy Insider gives subscribers an information advantage when investing, trading or doing business in the energy sectors. Successful investors, hedge funds and senior executives, have access to high level intelligence and power in ways that you, as an individual investor, are locked out of (the game is and never has been fair.) Let us help you level the playing field by using our network of traders, intelligence assets and high level partnerships to ensure you are making the right investment decisions.

To find out more on how you can get a legal inside advantage in the energy markets please take a moment to visit: http://oilprice.com/premium

10/23/13

W.A. Ismay Collection By Matthew Darbyshire – Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield

By: Chris Knowles
Aeneas Lavinium

Chris Knowles at the W.A. Ismay Collection by Matthew Darbyshire – Hepworth Gallery, Wakefield.

Today I have visited the W.A. Ismay Collection by contemporary artist Matthew Darbyshire at the Hepworth Gallery in Wakefield.

My visit was, primarily, a homage to my grandfather who was a friend and neighbour of Mr Ismay whom he knew as Bill. It was my first visit to the Hepworth Gallery as I am usually not that impressed with modern art. However, I liked what the gallery had to offer and would certainly recommend that others pay it a visit. In addition to the art, it affords excellent views of the river Calder and allows you to view Wakefield from a different perspective.

My grandfather arranged for my mother and myself to view Bills collection when I was a teenager back in the 80s. However, at that time it was at Bill’s house on Welbeck Street. He told us in no uncertain terms not to tell anyone because the collection was very valuable. It was certainly not the sort of thing that you would expect find behind the net curtains of a modest terrace house. To a trained eye, not mine, it was an Aladdin’s Cave of exotic ceramics. To me it was simply like a museum.

Darbyshire has arranged the collection using the footprint of Bill’s house as his canvass. This includes the front room, and the living room, but omits the kitchen. The gap in the middle of Darbyshire’s work is the position of the steps down to the cellar. It was interesting to compare this piece of modern art with my own memories of Bill’s home. I think he captured the essence of the atmosphere in the house very well – organised clutter. The house was jam-packed with pots covering every last space on more than one floor. Frankly I was amazed about how Bill actually managed to live in his own house!

There was one occasion when Mr Ismay was out when a delivery from Japan was made. Naturally they asked a neighbour to sign for it and look after until he returned home. That neighbour happened to be, much to her chagrin, my grandmother. She was a woman of a nervous disposition at the best of times and was horrified about having a fragile and potentially valuable piece of art being left in her care. The ceramic article survived, even though my grandmother was well known for dropping crockery in the kitchen due to her arthritis. I think she was very relieved when Mr Ismay finally took possession of the item. My mother thinks the item is the large circular object in the photograph next to this paragraph.

Darbyshire’s portrayal mixes in white goods such as the washing machine which contrast marvelously with the pottery. I do not remember any white goods when I was back at the house, but they could have been completely covered in pots! The juxtaposition of ancient and modern technology is an excellent way to draw attention to Bill’s collection.

I took quite a few photographs at the Hepworth. In the first group below, I wanted to show the collection as a single united work of art by Matthew Darbyshire.

The following photograph shows the view from what would have been the kitchen. The cabinet in the foreground would have been below the living room window that looked out into the back garden.

The following photo shows the view from what I would presume would have been next doors kitchen if the walls had been made out of transparent bricks.

Below is the view from what would have been the view from the garden of Bills other next door neighbour. You can see clearly where the chimneys were located.

In the photograph below, you can see the living room on the right with the mirror above the fireplace, the front room which has shelves above another fireplace, and in the middle the blank space representing the stairs down to the cellar.

The next photograph shows Matthew Darbyshire piece in the context of the room in the Hepworth Gallery. It shows it as a work of art in its own right that happens to incorporate many works of art within it.

In the follow set of photographs I have tried to focus on specific items of Bill’s collection within Darbyshire’s work of art. This is one of the remarkable things about the piece – you can see it as both a single work of modern art and a collection of less modern art forms put together by a single human being. The photograph containing the bert, the magnifying glass, and the typewriter seem to represent Bill the man. He seemed quite the English eccentric, exhibiting a unique appearance when he was out and about, being easily identifiable from his beret. He was an intellectual, a friend of my grandfather and a very nice man indeed.

Finally the following video, that can also be found on the Hepworth Gallery website, talks about Bill Ismay himself who left the country such a great artistic legacy.

The exhibition runs from 12 October 2013 to 26 January 2014 at: The Hepworth Wakefield, Gallery Walk, Wakefield, West Yorkshire, WF1 5AW.

10/23/13

Getting Borked

By: T F Stern
T F Stern’s Rantings

One of my favorite daily habits has to do with looking up what happened on this date in history. Maybe that’s why I enjoy Bill Federer’s American Minute so much; he makes history come alive with lesser known facts that add spice to the mix.

Here’s a lesser known historical piece of history that happened on this date, October 23, 1981; Lucy and I were sealed for time and all eternity as husband and wife along with our children as an eternal family in the Salt Lake Temple. While it has little to do with what I planned to write about today, it is an important date, even if only for our family.

No, what got me started this morning was a reminder that on this date back in 1987 Robert Bork’s nomination to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan was rejected; but rejected doesn’t come close to the character assassination techniques used to destroy this man. Eviscerated or perhaps even crucified would be a more apt description of the manner in which Bork was treated…and for what?

Robert Bork was a staunch conservative who was honest when expressing his core belief’s, beliefs which he would not compromise. In other words he was a man of character entering a den of wolves.

Robert Bork died December 19, 2012 as the Detroit Free Press recorded:

“As a legal scholar and jurist, Bork was an advocate of “originalism” — the principle that judges should interpret the Constitution the way its framers had intended. While that endeared him to conservatives, Bork’s writings and statements expressing his ideology were what led to such fierce scrutiny when he was tapped for the high court.”

Ken Blackwell of Town Hall.com wrote:

“Most of us would be honored to have our name become a verb. Especially those of us in public life. But that is not how Judge Robert H. Bork got into the dictionary. He was “borked” when President Reagan nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court. No sooner had the announcement been made by the White House on July 1, 1987, than Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) raced to the Senate floor to denounce the distinguished judge and former Yale Law Professor.”

“In Robert Bork’s America, Kennedy roared, blacks would once again sit in the back of the bus, rogue police would break in our doors, and women would be forced to go to back alley butchers for abortions. On and on, Kennedy ranted, using every extreme and exaggerated charge he could employ, to tarnish the judge’s reputation.”

You have to consider the source, now don’t you? At least Robert Bork didn’t flee the scene and let a young woman drown in his car. Men of character among those with little or no character stand out from the crowd and become natural targets; call it jealousy or what ever, their presence makes lesser men recognize the difference and either retreat to the shadows or destroy that which is better.

The more I think about it, eviscerated was the perfect word when applied to Robert Bork as the Socialist Party; sorry, I meant Democrat Party, as the Democrat Party relentlessly attacked, exaggerated claims and used fear mongering via major news media to bleed Bork dry of public service opportunity. Bork had to be destroyed because he was a conservative man of character.

Eviscerate: “to remove an essential part of something and so weaken it”.

Wasn’t that the basis of the attack on Bork?

Put in proper perspective, the purpose of relentless attacks on conservatism or “originalism” is to weaken it to such an extent as to make it of no consequence in the political arena, a necessary agenda item towards destroying the foundations of America. Isn’t that how you bring about the change necessary to install a different form of government?

Had Robert Bork been installed as a Supreme Court Justice he would have, in all probability, followed the Constitution in a manner which the founders had intended; something which runs contrary to the desires and wishes of those intent on replacing what they consider an out of date document.

President Obama while addressing the press corps last November said:

“…the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society. To that extent, as radical as I think people try to characterize the Warren Court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren Court interpreted in the same way, that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. Says what the states can’t do to you. Says what the federal government can’t do to you, but doesn’t say what the federal government or state government must do on your behalf.”

Obama also stated, “The document is so out-dated, that it is now becoming a hindrance to governing the country.”

Isn’t that interesting… a Marxist Communist president in the White House frustrated by a document written over two hundred years ago to protect ‘We The People’ from totalitarian dictators? Amazing! Maybe this explains the vast number of Executive Orders implemented to get around our representative form of government; just thinking out loud.

Present day attacks on the conservative movement are no coincidence. The Tea Party or individuals who stand out from the crowd such as Senator Ted Cruz (R) Texas, are under attack. Now connect the dots and figure out why it’s important to relegate conservatives as crack pots or lunatics. Face it, folks who hold the constitution as a sacred document can expect to be ‘Borked’.

Many powerful members of the GOP are in on the ‘Borking’; why is that? (Hint: Read Cleon Skousan’s book, The Naked Communist, where he explains that one or both political parties need to be taken over.)

Tonight Lucy and I will attend the Houston Temple as husband and wife to thank God for having each other and our children sealed for time and all eternity. We might even express our gratitude for His having established this nation and for wise men to provide the constitution as a means of preserving our liberty and individual God given rights.

Maybe if enough folks remembered that our Creator established this country for a wise purpose, followed His commandments and lived their lives in such a way as to have His protection…maybe we wouldn’t have good men like Robert Bork denied the opportunity to serve in important positions of government. …or we can look forward to being ‘Borked’, the choice is yours.

This article has been cross-posted to The Moral Liberal, a publication whose banner reads, “Defending The Judeo-Christian Ethic, Limited Government & The American Constitution.”

10/23/13

The Tea Party: Last Hope for America

By: Lloyd Marcus

http://bit.ly/GUK6Sg Still, the race was much closer than panicked Democrats expected. Lonegan boldly touted conservative principles. He outperformed Mitt Romney’s Nov. 2012 vote totals in most New Jersey counties.

On election day, I felt a bit yucky, fighting a cold and tired. Booker’s win added to my yuckiness. Camped out on the sofa, I watched a TV show titled, “The Book of Manning”, a documentary about the Manning family and their amazing football legacy.

Folks, that TV show helped to get me through the night. It reminded me of what I am fighting for, an American ideal. I am fighting to preserve an America in which striving for excellence, working hard and trying to do the right thing is rewarded.

My involvement in the political arena goes far beyond politics. It is about two opposing visions for America and what it means to be an American.

Booker, like his idol Obama, seeks to transform America into a nation where entitlements reign supreme, achievers are demonized, standards are lowered and mediocrity is spread equally; a land of baby daddies and welfare checks.

Democrats feel morally justified in their relentless efforts to redistribute wealth. They dismiss achievers as mere “winners of life’s lottery”. Hogwash! Biographies of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Peyton, Eli and Archie Manning and countless others confirm that superior performance is birthed out of a superior work ethic.

“Excellence is never an accident. It is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives – choice, not chance, determines your destiny.” Aristotle

As I stated, we are in a war of two opposing ideas; striving for and celebrating American exceptional-ism vs a gimme-my-government-handout America.

Washington elites on both sides of the political isle have launched an all out assault to destroy the Tea Party and the lawmakers who represent our principles and values.

However, the reality is that thanks to the Tea Party, Steve Lonegan earned the highest percentage of the vote for any Republican candidate for Senate in New Jersey in the last dozen years. I am extremely proud of you folks. Thank you very, very much.

The closeness of the Senate race confirms that conservatism does resonate with voters when properly articulated. We lost because Booker had $11 million to smear Lonegan and sell lies to masses of low-info voters. Pundits are erroneously blaming the Tea Party.

We, the Tea Party are the instruments of real change in DC. Quite frankly, Washington elites are appalled by our arrogance. Who do we Tea Party yahoos think we are trying to make demands on them?

Patriots, I wish to send out a clarion call to stand strong in your commitment to preserving the freedoms we have left and restoring those we have lost. Also, it is vitally crucial that you remain loyal and defend our representatives Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz and Mike Lee with every fiber of your being. Without their courageous voices championing our mission, the battle for America is easily lost.

As I stated, watching the Manning Family documentary gave me hope. It was about a young man who worked very, very hard to be the best football player he could be. But his greatest desire was to be a good dad to his sons. Without pressuring his sons to following in his footsteps but simply leading by example, both Peyton and Eli embraced the family work ethic which has lead to pro football excellence. Their mom was loving and supportive.

Laugh, poke fun and call it “Leave it to Beaver” if you like, but it is the kind of America I miss and see swiftly slipping away.

Just an observation, Archie Manning was a live-in father rather than a baby daddy with numerous out of wedlock births resulting from his sperm donations.

Hang in there Tea Party. Though they slander you with false accusations of racism, in reality, you are the last hope for America.

Lloyd Marcus, Proud Unhyphenated American
Chairman: http://www.conservativecampaign.org/
LloydMarcus.com