Yesterday, President Obama gave a stern lecture to Congress for not cutting a deal yet to end the debt ceiling standoff. And he made some good points about the need for action. Unfortunately, some were offset by the fact that the people he was lecturing aren’t the people who caused the problem. They’ve only been in office since January and haven’t even had time to write a budget yet. It was the last few Congresses that ran up trillion dollar-plus deficits and failed even to propose a budget for over two years. Obama also used what cynics call the “don’t kill that puppy” ploy. It’s where you set up a false choice to make the other side look unreasonable, as in “either you want to do it my way, or you want to kill a puppy.” For instance, he asked if Republicans would jeopardize children’s safety and college educations to protect tax breaks for private jet owners. But there’s really no connection between the two. You’re not throwing children to the hyenas just because you preserve a tax break that helps create jobs for aviation workers who have children to support themselves. Besides, you’d think he’d approve of that tax break, since it was part of his own stimulus bill.
The President is right about Congress needing to take action to get the nation’s finances in order. But that will only happen when both sides come to the table with serious intent and mutual respect, not by using the crisis as a pretext for impugning the other guys’ motives and playing class warfare for political gain. Obama also told Congress that it was irresponsible to go on vacation while the nation’s in fiscal crisis, so they’ll stay in Washington through the Fourth of July. A noble thought, although it might do us all more good if they went home, soaked up a little outside-the-Beltway patriotism, and got an earful from their constituents. And it could be argued that if Congress had spent less time in Washington, we wouldn’t HAVE a debt crisis. Meanwhile, Obama must be confident that the crisis will soon be over. His own vacation house in Martha’s Vineyard is already booked for mid-August.
Learn more about our supporting friends at US Money Reserve by visiting their website here.
Eugene, Oregon
Just how liberal is Eugene, Oregon? Would you believe the most controversial issue the City Council took up this month was a vote to say the Pledge of Allegiance before their meetings? Sponsor Mike Clark thought it would be a no-brainer. He didn’t count on fellow council members declaring themselves citizens of the world and denouncing the Pledge as divisive and tantamount to reading the Communist Manifesto – which I suspect they wouldn’t have gotten half as worked up about. In the end, they compromised and will say the Pledge only at four meetings a year, close to patriotic holidays. I guess council members who oppose it can just pledge allegiance to the UN flag. Although that wasn’t the flag that was flying at all the battles that won them the right to hold free and open meetings.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
The Undignified Administration by kingsjester
Do you remember when the White House and the power of the presidency and administration and all of its history and ambiance stood for something special and dignified? Well, that ship has sailed.
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, announced yesterday that her Department played an instrumental role in “sealing the deal” for Madonna-wannabe Lady Gaga to perform at a gay pride rally in Rome, Italy.
Beeming with pride, Clinton cited a letter that David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, sent to Lady Gaga urging her to participate in the event. Madam Secretary said:
And then there is the work that our embassy team in Rome has been doing. Two weeks ago they played an instrumental role in bringing Lady Gaga to Italy for a Euro Pride concert.
Now as many of you know Lady Gaga is Italian American and a strong supporter of LGBT rights. And the organizers of the Euro Pride event desperately wanted her to perform and a letter to her from Ambassador Thorne was instrumental in sealing the deal.
What will our Administration’s Muslim allies think about this?
Secretary Clinton’s announcement was made at the State Department during a celebration of LGBT Pride Month, co-hosted by the department and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), a group that, per its website, “represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) personnel and their families in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, and other foreign affairs agencies and offices in the U.S. Government.”
To quote Dana Carvey’s Church Lady: Well, now…isn’t that…special?
Lady Gaga performed at a rally at the ancient Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy on June 11th. The rally followed a gay pride march through the city of Rome.
Gaga made the news earlier this year when she released her song “Judas” in early May. In the video, Gaga is a Mary Magdalene figure–in a motorcycle gang—who becomes enamored with Judas.
According to billboard.com:
The video opens with a motorcycle gang cruising down a freeway, as Gaga clutches onto a Jesus-like figure who wears a golden crown of thorns.
Lyrics include:
Oh, I’m in love with Judas, Judas. In the most Biblical sense I am beyond repentance. Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind.
And our tax money is supporting this? The Obama Administration has alienated all of our allies and embraced our enemies. The Mid-East is ablaze in Islamic Revolution, and their focus is a Gay pride Rally in Italy?
Am I missing something here?
Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State, announced yesterday that her Department played an instrumental role in “sealing the deal” for Madonna-wannabe Lady Gaga to perform at a gay pride rally in Rome, Italy.
Beeming with pride, Clinton cited a letter that David Thorne, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, sent to Lady Gaga urging her to participate in the event. Madam Secretary said:
And then there is the work that our embassy team in Rome has been doing. Two weeks ago they played an instrumental role in bringing Lady Gaga to Italy for a Euro Pride concert.
Now as many of you know Lady Gaga is Italian American and a strong supporter of LGBT rights. And the organizers of the Euro Pride event desperately wanted her to perform and a letter to her from Ambassador Thorne was instrumental in sealing the deal.
What will our Administration’s Muslim allies think about this?
Secretary Clinton’s announcement was made at the State Department during a celebration of LGBT Pride Month, co-hosted by the department and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), a group that, per its website, “represents lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) personnel and their families in the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Foreign Commercial Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, and other foreign affairs agencies and offices in the U.S. Government.”
To quote Dana Carvey’s Church Lady: Well, now…isn’t that…special?
Lady Gaga performed at a rally at the ancient Circus Maximus in Rome, Italy on June 11th. The rally followed a gay pride march through the city of Rome.
Gaga made the news earlier this year when she released her song “Judas” in early May. In the video, Gaga is a Mary Magdalene figure–in a motorcycle gang—who becomes enamored with Judas.
According to billboard.com:
The video opens with a motorcycle gang cruising down a freeway, as Gaga clutches onto a Jesus-like figure who wears a golden crown of thorns.
Lyrics include:
Oh, I’m in love with Judas, Judas. In the most Biblical sense I am beyond repentance. Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind.
And our tax money is supporting this? The Obama Administration has alienated all of our allies and embraced our enemies. The Mid-East is ablaze in Islamic Revolution, and their focus is a Gay pride Rally in Italy?
Am I missing something here?
Monday, June 27, 2011
Brian Terry's mother sues
Reporter: Steve Nuñez
Web Producer: Layla Tang
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The family of a U.S. Border Patrol agent killed in a shoot out near Rio Rico is planning to sue the federal government. Brian Terry's mother told 9 On Your Side she believes the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, is also responsible for her son's murder because top officials allowed the assault rifle that was used in his murder to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
Now, more than six months later, Josephine Terry testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee calling on top Congressional lawmakers to force the Department of Justice to explain how a gun trafficking operation backfired.
"When it happened, how it happened, but never got no answers," said Terry when asked if she was satisfied with the answers given to her.
Terry accused the ATF of trying to cover up her son's murder by refusing to identify top officials who knowingly authorized gun dealers to sell as many as 2,500 firearms to so-called straw purchasers who would then "walk" the guns into Mexico. The idea was to track the guns to drug cartel leaders in order to to bust up the organization.
Instead, a congressional investigation shows the operation code-named "fast and furious" spun out of control and supervisors ignored agents who pushed to stop it. ATF Agent John Dodson blew the whistle only after Terry was killed. The ATF has now admitted two AK-47 rifles purchased by known criminals at a Phoenix gun dealer a year ago were recovered at Terry's murder scene.
So far, of the five suspected bandits, the feds have charged only one of them with Terry's killing. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes was arrested the night of the shooting and was shot at least once during the firefight. The FBI has yet to arrest the other four.
The Terry family simply wants justice to be served. Josephine believes suing the feds is the only way to force top officials from President Obama to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and on down, to be held accountable by testifying on who knew what.
"I want whoever decided this program and knew about it to be held responsible. I want justice for my son. He served his country. He was a Marine. He was a police officer. He was a border patrol agent. My son was a true American hero," Terry told KGUN9.
The Terry family has hired Attorney Paul Charlton of Phoenix to represent them. Charlton is a former U.S. Attorney for Arizona. Once the tort claim is filed, the ATF will be given six months to respond by either offering a settlement or denying liability.
Terry stressed to 9 On Your Side the family is not seeking money. She simply wants top leaders to be held responsible for her son's murder.
When asked what type of legal punishment she'd like to see happen to those involved with overseeing the operation, Terry would only say that she wants them to admit blame
Web Producer: Layla Tang
TUCSON (KGUN9-TV) – The family of a U.S. Border Patrol agent killed in a shoot out near Rio Rico is planning to sue the federal government. Brian Terry's mother told 9 On Your Side she believes the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, or ATF, is also responsible for her son's murder because top officials allowed the assault rifle that was used in his murder to get into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.
Now, more than six months later, Josephine Terry testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform committee calling on top Congressional lawmakers to force the Department of Justice to explain how a gun trafficking operation backfired.
"When it happened, how it happened, but never got no answers," said Terry when asked if she was satisfied with the answers given to her.
Terry accused the ATF of trying to cover up her son's murder by refusing to identify top officials who knowingly authorized gun dealers to sell as many as 2,500 firearms to so-called straw purchasers who would then "walk" the guns into Mexico. The idea was to track the guns to drug cartel leaders in order to to bust up the organization.
Instead, a congressional investigation shows the operation code-named "fast and furious" spun out of control and supervisors ignored agents who pushed to stop it. ATF Agent John Dodson blew the whistle only after Terry was killed. The ATF has now admitted two AK-47 rifles purchased by known criminals at a Phoenix gun dealer a year ago were recovered at Terry's murder scene.
So far, of the five suspected bandits, the feds have charged only one of them with Terry's killing. Manuel Osorio-Arellanes was arrested the night of the shooting and was shot at least once during the firefight. The FBI has yet to arrest the other four.
The Terry family simply wants justice to be served. Josephine believes suing the feds is the only way to force top officials from President Obama to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and on down, to be held accountable by testifying on who knew what.
"I want whoever decided this program and knew about it to be held responsible. I want justice for my son. He served his country. He was a Marine. He was a police officer. He was a border patrol agent. My son was a true American hero," Terry told KGUN9.
The Terry family has hired Attorney Paul Charlton of Phoenix to represent them. Charlton is a former U.S. Attorney for Arizona. Once the tort claim is filed, the ATF will be given six months to respond by either offering a settlement or denying liability.
Terry stressed to 9 On Your Side the family is not seeking money. She simply wants top leaders to be held responsible for her son's murder.
When asked what type of legal punishment she'd like to see happen to those involved with overseeing the operation, Terry would only say that she wants them to admit blame
Sunday, June 26, 2011
A Message from Mychal Massie
At a time when many Americans can barely afford Burger King and a movie, Obama boasts of spending a billion dollars on his re-election campaign. Questioned at a recent appearance about the spiraling fuel costs, Obama said, "Get used to it" - and with an insouciant grin and chortle, he told another person at the event, who complained about the effect high fuel prices were having on his family, to "get a more fuel-efficient car."
The Obamas behave as if they were sharecroppers living in a trailer and hit the Powerball, but instead of getting new tires for their trailer and a new pickup truck, they moved to Washington . And instead of making possum pie, with goats and chickens in the front yard, they're spending and living large at taxpayer expense - opulent vacations, gala balls, resplendent dinners and exclusive command performances at the White House, grand date nights, golf, basketball, more golf, exclusive resorts and still more golf.
Expensive, ill-fitting and ill-chosen wigs and fashions hardly befit the first lady of the United States . The Obamas have behaved in every way but presidential - which is why it's so offensive when we hear Obama say, in order "to restore fiscal responsibility, we all need to share in the sacrifice - but we don't have to sacrifice the America we believe in."
The American people have been sacrificing; it is he and his family who are behaving as if they've never had two nickels to rub together - and now, having hit the mother lode, they're going to spend away their feelings of inadequacy at the taxpayers' expense.
Obama continues to exhibit behavior that, at best, can be described as mobocratic and, at worst, reveals a deeply damaged individual. In a February 2010 column, I asked, "Is Obama unraveling?" I wrote that it was beginning to appear the growing mistrust of him and contempt for his policies was beginning to have a destabilizing effect on him.
At that time, I wrote that not having things go one's way can be a bitter pill, but reasonable people don't behave as he was behaving. He had insulted Republicans at their luncheon, where he had been an invited guest. I had speculated that was, in part, what had led him to falsely accuse Supreme Court justices before Congress, the nation and the world, during the 2010 State of the Union address.
It appeared, at that time, as if he were "fraying around the emotional edges." That behavior has not abated - it has become more pronounced. While addressing the nation, after being forced to explain the validity of his unilateral aggression with Libya , America witnessed a petulant individual scowling and scolding the public for daring to insist he explain his actions.
But during an afternoon speech to address the budget/debt, he took his scornful, unstable despotic behavior to depths that should give the nation cause for concern. Displaying a dark psychopathy more representative of an episode of "The Tudors" television series, he invited Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to sit in the front row during his speech and then proceeded to berate both Ryan and Ryan's budget-cutting plan. Even liberal Democrats were put off by the act. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough questioned the sanity of Obama's actions.
Today, criticism is coming from all sides. A senior Democrat lawmaker said, "I have been very disappointed in [Obama], to the point where I'm embarrassed that I endorsed him. It's so bad that some of us are thinking, is there some way we can replace him? How do you get rid of this guy?" ("Democrats' Disgust with Obama," The Daily Beast, April 15, 2011)
Steve McCann wrote: Obama's speech "was chock full of lies, deceit and crass fear-mongering. It must be said that [he] is the most dishonest, deceitful and mendacious person in a position of power I have ever witnessed" ("The Mendacity of Barack Obama," AmericanThinker.com, April 15, 2011).
McCann continued: "[His] performance was the culmination of four years of outright lies and narcissism that have been largely ignored by the media, including some in the conservative press and political class who are loath to call [him] what he is in the bluntest of terms: a liar and a fraud. That he relies on his skin color to intimidate, either outright or by insinuation [against] those who oppose his radical agenda only add to his audacity. It is apparent that he has gotten away with his character flaws his entire life, aided and abetted by sycophants around him."
With these being among the kinder rebukes being directed at Obama, and with people becoming less intimidated by his willingness to use race as a bludgeon, with falling poll numbers in every meaningful category and an increasingly aggressive tea-party opposition - how much longer before he cracks completely?
The coming months of political life are not going to be pleasant for Obama. Possessed by a self-perceived palatine mindset, that in his mind places him above criticism, how long before he cracks in public? Can America risk a man with a documented track record of lying and misrepresenting truth as a basic way of life, who is becoming increasingly more contumelious?
Mychal Massie is chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 - a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County , N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, Massie can be followed at mychal-massie.com.
The Obamas behave as if they were sharecroppers living in a trailer and hit the Powerball, but instead of getting new tires for their trailer and a new pickup truck, they moved to Washington . And instead of making possum pie, with goats and chickens in the front yard, they're spending and living large at taxpayer expense - opulent vacations, gala balls, resplendent dinners and exclusive command performances at the White House, grand date nights, golf, basketball, more golf, exclusive resorts and still more golf.
Expensive, ill-fitting and ill-chosen wigs and fashions hardly befit the first lady of the United States . The Obamas have behaved in every way but presidential - which is why it's so offensive when we hear Obama say, in order "to restore fiscal responsibility, we all need to share in the sacrifice - but we don't have to sacrifice the America we believe in."
The American people have been sacrificing; it is he and his family who are behaving as if they've never had two nickels to rub together - and now, having hit the mother lode, they're going to spend away their feelings of inadequacy at the taxpayers' expense.
Obama continues to exhibit behavior that, at best, can be described as mobocratic and, at worst, reveals a deeply damaged individual. In a February 2010 column, I asked, "Is Obama unraveling?" I wrote that it was beginning to appear the growing mistrust of him and contempt for his policies was beginning to have a destabilizing effect on him.
At that time, I wrote that not having things go one's way can be a bitter pill, but reasonable people don't behave as he was behaving. He had insulted Republicans at their luncheon, where he had been an invited guest. I had speculated that was, in part, what had led him to falsely accuse Supreme Court justices before Congress, the nation and the world, during the 2010 State of the Union address.
It appeared, at that time, as if he were "fraying around the emotional edges." That behavior has not abated - it has become more pronounced. While addressing the nation, after being forced to explain the validity of his unilateral aggression with Libya , America witnessed a petulant individual scowling and scolding the public for daring to insist he explain his actions.
But during an afternoon speech to address the budget/debt, he took his scornful, unstable despotic behavior to depths that should give the nation cause for concern. Displaying a dark psychopathy more representative of an episode of "The Tudors" television series, he invited Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to sit in the front row during his speech and then proceeded to berate both Ryan and Ryan's budget-cutting plan. Even liberal Democrats were put off by the act. MSNBC's Joe Scarborough questioned the sanity of Obama's actions.
Today, criticism is coming from all sides. A senior Democrat lawmaker said, "I have been very disappointed in [Obama], to the point where I'm embarrassed that I endorsed him. It's so bad that some of us are thinking, is there some way we can replace him? How do you get rid of this guy?" ("Democrats' Disgust with Obama," The Daily Beast, April 15, 2011)
Steve McCann wrote: Obama's speech "was chock full of lies, deceit and crass fear-mongering. It must be said that [he] is the most dishonest, deceitful and mendacious person in a position of power I have ever witnessed" ("The Mendacity of Barack Obama," AmericanThinker.com, April 15, 2011).
McCann continued: "[His] performance was the culmination of four years of outright lies and narcissism that have been largely ignored by the media, including some in the conservative press and political class who are loath to call [him] what he is in the bluntest of terms: a liar and a fraud. That he relies on his skin color to intimidate, either outright or by insinuation [against] those who oppose his radical agenda only add to his audacity. It is apparent that he has gotten away with his character flaws his entire life, aided and abetted by sycophants around him."
With these being among the kinder rebukes being directed at Obama, and with people becoming less intimidated by his willingness to use race as a bludgeon, with falling poll numbers in every meaningful category and an increasingly aggressive tea-party opposition - how much longer before he cracks completely?
The coming months of political life are not going to be pleasant for Obama. Possessed by a self-perceived palatine mindset, that in his mind places him above criticism, how long before he cracks in public? Can America risk a man with a documented track record of lying and misrepresenting truth as a basic way of life, who is becoming increasingly more contumelious?
Mychal Massie is chairman of the National Leadership Network of Black Conservatives-Project 21 - a conservative black think tank located in Washington, D.C. He was recognized as the 2008 Conservative Man of the Year by the Conservative Party of Suffolk County , N.Y. He is a nationally recognized political activist, pundit and columnist. He has appeared on Fox News Channel, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, NBC, Comcast Cable and talk radio programming nationwide. A former self-employed business owner of more than 30 years, Massie can be followed at mychal-massie.com.
Friday, June 24, 2011
USPostal Service suspends pensions payments
Facing a huge budget deficit and possible insolvency, the U.S. Postal Service is suspending its contributions to an employee retirement fund — for the first time in its history — to save $800 million this year.
The Postal Service will stop paying employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which covers about 85 percent of career postal workers, according to a statement from the agency. With 596,000 workers, the Postal Service is the nation’s second-largest civilian employer after Wal-Mart.
pOSTAL SERVICE, pensionsThe $115 million that the agency pays to the retirement system every other week will stop on Friday.
The Postal Service reported a loss of $8.5 billion in fiscal year 2010, and is expected to lose $8.3 billion this year, according to The Washington Post.
The USPS is facing insolvency without approval to delay a $5.5 billion payment for worker health benefits, due in September. The Postal Service maintains that it has been overcharged $75 billion for its pension obligations and if that money is returned, the USPS could use the funds to pay for the health benefits.
The agency has pushed Congress to eliminate the requirement that it pre-pay health benefits, and it wants to end Saturday mail delivery.
The agency will continue to transmit employee contributions to the pension fund. The FERS account has a $6.9 billion surplus, according to Bloomberg.
Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer says the suspension of employer payments for the retirement fund payments will have no impact on employees or current retirees.
The $800 million saved is "money we need to prevent us from running out of cash to pay employees and suppliers to keep the mail moving," Partenheimer told Newsmax.
Commenting on the USPS decision to suspend the payments, Gene Del Polito, head of the Association for Postal Commerce, which represents postal customers, told Bloomberg: “The Congress and the administration have left the Postal Service with no other choice. The money’s not there, and they can’t get any more from customers that already are fleeing the mail.”
The Postal Service is an independent agency of the U.S. government and essentially has received no direct taxpayer dollars since the early 1980s. However, its relationship with the federal government is complicated, and it must borrow from the Treasury, which does get tax money, to cover its shortfalls.
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
The Postal Service will stop paying employer contributions to the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS), which covers about 85 percent of career postal workers, according to a statement from the agency. With 596,000 workers, the Postal Service is the nation’s second-largest civilian employer after Wal-Mart.
pOSTAL SERVICE, pensionsThe $115 million that the agency pays to the retirement system every other week will stop on Friday.
The Postal Service reported a loss of $8.5 billion in fiscal year 2010, and is expected to lose $8.3 billion this year, according to The Washington Post.
The USPS is facing insolvency without approval to delay a $5.5 billion payment for worker health benefits, due in September. The Postal Service maintains that it has been overcharged $75 billion for its pension obligations and if that money is returned, the USPS could use the funds to pay for the health benefits.
The agency has pushed Congress to eliminate the requirement that it pre-pay health benefits, and it wants to end Saturday mail delivery.
The agency will continue to transmit employee contributions to the pension fund. The FERS account has a $6.9 billion surplus, according to Bloomberg.
Postal Service spokesman David Partenheimer says the suspension of employer payments for the retirement fund payments will have no impact on employees or current retirees.
The $800 million saved is "money we need to prevent us from running out of cash to pay employees and suppliers to keep the mail moving," Partenheimer told Newsmax.
Commenting on the USPS decision to suspend the payments, Gene Del Polito, head of the Association for Postal Commerce, which represents postal customers, told Bloomberg: “The Congress and the administration have left the Postal Service with no other choice. The money’s not there, and they can’t get any more from customers that already are fleeing the mail.”
The Postal Service is an independent agency of the U.S. government and essentially has received no direct taxpayer dollars since the early 1980s. However, its relationship with the federal government is complicated, and it must borrow from the Treasury, which does get tax money, to cover its shortfalls.
© Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
A Letter From Mike Huckabee
From the Huckabee Report :
Last night, President Obama addressed the nation to explain what he's decided to do about the war in Afghanistan that's gone on for nearly 10 years now. He said the US had largely achieved its goals, “the tide of war is receding,” and he plans to end the surge of troops he sent there last year, bringing 10,000 home this year, and over 20,000 next year, for a total pullout of 33,000 troops by 2012. That's about a third of all the troops deployed there now. Military leaders had urged him to keep troop levels higher to finish the job or risk a Taliban resurgence. But after the killing of Osama bin Laden and other high-profile defeats of the Taliban, polls shows many Americans think we've done enough and just want it to end. The latest Pew research poll finds that 56 percent want the troops brought home as quickly as possible, and that's the highest number ever. And with a new Bloomberg poll finding that only 30 percent of Americans say they will definitely vote to reelect Obama, if the people want the troops brought home, it's no surprise they'll start arriving before the elections.
Of course, Afghanistan isn't the only Middle Eastern nation giving Obama headaches. He passed the deadline Sunday for getting Congressional approval of our involvement in Libya. Very few people on either side bought his argument that helping NATO drop bombs is technically not “hostilities.” So House Speaker John Boehner is giving Congress members a tough choice. He plans to introduce two bills on the Libya mission: One to authorize it for one year, and one to remove all US troops except those involved in non-hostile missions. He hopes to introduce them by the end of the week, so Congress members have about two days to decide where they stand and put it on the record.
Sign Huck PAC's new Petition to Defund Planned Parenthood. Visit my website here.
Congress v. The President?
Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973. The intent of it was to check the powers of the President in committing our country to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The language of the Resolution is pretty clear, yet Presidents from both parties have consistently ignored it. The latest to do so is President Obama with the commitment of our troops to Libya.
Speaker of the House John Boehner sent the President a letter demanding that he comply with the War Powers Act by Sunday, June 19. Speaker Boehner reminded the President that on June 3, 2011 the House passed a resolution that made clear that the Administration had not asked for, nor received congressional authorization for Libya.
The White House didn’t respond, except to say its talking to Congress. I don't think that complies with the War Powers Act – and it sure doesn't seem to be what Congress has in mind.
The Obama Administration is trying to get around this by saying that even though the United States is providing most of the weapons and funding for NATO to bomb the smithereens out of Libya - it doesn't rise to the definition of "hostilities." Really? Even the President's own legal experts seem to disagree with this spin.
“So what comes next? Well, let's hope this doesn't lead to a drawn-out Constitutional crisis between two branches of government, both of which have other pressing matters to deal with. But there are already moves starting in Congress to cut off funding for the Libya mission.”
Last night, President Obama addressed the nation to explain what he's decided to do about the war in Afghanistan that's gone on for nearly 10 years now. He said the US had largely achieved its goals, “the tide of war is receding,” and he plans to end the surge of troops he sent there last year, bringing 10,000 home this year, and over 20,000 next year, for a total pullout of 33,000 troops by 2012. That's about a third of all the troops deployed there now. Military leaders had urged him to keep troop levels higher to finish the job or risk a Taliban resurgence. But after the killing of Osama bin Laden and other high-profile defeats of the Taliban, polls shows many Americans think we've done enough and just want it to end. The latest Pew research poll finds that 56 percent want the troops brought home as quickly as possible, and that's the highest number ever. And with a new Bloomberg poll finding that only 30 percent of Americans say they will definitely vote to reelect Obama, if the people want the troops brought home, it's no surprise they'll start arriving before the elections.
Of course, Afghanistan isn't the only Middle Eastern nation giving Obama headaches. He passed the deadline Sunday for getting Congressional approval of our involvement in Libya. Very few people on either side bought his argument that helping NATO drop bombs is technically not “hostilities.” So House Speaker John Boehner is giving Congress members a tough choice. He plans to introduce two bills on the Libya mission: One to authorize it for one year, and one to remove all US troops except those involved in non-hostile missions. He hopes to introduce them by the end of the week, so Congress members have about two days to decide where they stand and put it on the record.
Sign Huck PAC's new Petition to Defund Planned Parenthood. Visit my website here.
Congress v. The President?
Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973. The intent of it was to check the powers of the President in committing our country to an armed conflict without the consent of Congress. The language of the Resolution is pretty clear, yet Presidents from both parties have consistently ignored it. The latest to do so is President Obama with the commitment of our troops to Libya.
Speaker of the House John Boehner sent the President a letter demanding that he comply with the War Powers Act by Sunday, June 19. Speaker Boehner reminded the President that on June 3, 2011 the House passed a resolution that made clear that the Administration had not asked for, nor received congressional authorization for Libya.
The White House didn’t respond, except to say its talking to Congress. I don't think that complies with the War Powers Act – and it sure doesn't seem to be what Congress has in mind.
The Obama Administration is trying to get around this by saying that even though the United States is providing most of the weapons and funding for NATO to bomb the smithereens out of Libya - it doesn't rise to the definition of "hostilities." Really? Even the President's own legal experts seem to disagree with this spin.
“So what comes next? Well, let's hope this doesn't lead to a drawn-out Constitutional crisis between two branches of government, both of which have other pressing matters to deal with. But there are already moves starting in Congress to cut off funding for the Libya mission.”
With the Federal Debt rising daily, American's are calling for the spending to stop, yet liberal lawmakers refuse to stop the bleeding.Too stubborn to admit the stimulus didn't work and unwilling to make the cuts necessary for the country to survive, just reinforces the need to replace these ignorant people.
The GOP needs to stand their ground and not cave in to these thugs. It is time for the house and senate to listen to the people and force the cuts and demand a balanced budget. The rest of the country has to live on a budget and so should Washington.
In my humble opinion the first place to start cutting is with the salaries of our lawmakers. They made the bold decision not to give a cost of living raise to Social Security, yet voted a raise for themselves.When many of our lawmakers are multi-millionaires it is repugnant to me that they even take a salary. Many Corporate boards pay $1.00 per year for members to sit on them. If these people want to serve and have the power and prestige of holding office, then it should be gratis. It is ridiculous to pay people who obviously don't need the income. This isn't any crazier idea than congress expecting the rich to pay the bulk of the taxes, just because they can't quit spending.
I think the first cuts should come from the White House. Obama needs to lose his CZARS. What the heck do they do anyway, besides kiss his butt! And Michelle.....p l e a s e!!!!!! What does she do that is so important it takes 26 people to do it? Is this just a way of buying friends? The constant vacations need to be stopped, and is it too much to ask that Air Force One is only used for government business and not for unnecessary photo ops and goofy summits that he creates in lieu of staying in DC and getting his job done. Must he have that plane out of the hanger everyday?
Then they need to start chopping. Get rid of NPR,EPA,NEA,FTC,FCC,DOE,SEC,IRS,NLRB and cut all the duplicate programs.I can't think of a single turtle that can read a sign leading it to a tunnel to cross the road safely. Don't know who would be enriched with a teapot museum, why update the utilities at a shopping mall that has been out of business for 10 years.Repave runways for an airport that only has 4 flights per day, ridiculous.Free bike helmets given out at a wealthy neighborhood in NY city.A cowboy poetry festival, a favorite of Dem Leader Reid. Can't overlook shrimp on a treadmill,or honey bees in Chili. Oil drilling in Brazil, study of gays using condoms in China. HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH ALL THE STUPID WAYS TO SPEND OUR MONEY?
The problem is that the people in Congress don't live here in the real world with the rest of us poor slobs who struggle day to day just to put food on the table. They probably don't have a clue what a loaf of bread costs or how much braces or glasses cost the average parent.How to stretch a dollar when you have only enough for bills and you can't fill a Rx. These millionaires, who voted themselves a raise.....JUST DON'T GET IT.
The GOP needs to stand their ground and not cave in to these thugs. It is time for the house and senate to listen to the people and force the cuts and demand a balanced budget. The rest of the country has to live on a budget and so should Washington.
In my humble opinion the first place to start cutting is with the salaries of our lawmakers. They made the bold decision not to give a cost of living raise to Social Security, yet voted a raise for themselves.When many of our lawmakers are multi-millionaires it is repugnant to me that they even take a salary. Many Corporate boards pay $1.00 per year for members to sit on them. If these people want to serve and have the power and prestige of holding office, then it should be gratis. It is ridiculous to pay people who obviously don't need the income. This isn't any crazier idea than congress expecting the rich to pay the bulk of the taxes, just because they can't quit spending.
I think the first cuts should come from the White House. Obama needs to lose his CZARS. What the heck do they do anyway, besides kiss his butt! And Michelle.....p l e a s e!!!!!! What does she do that is so important it takes 26 people to do it? Is this just a way of buying friends? The constant vacations need to be stopped, and is it too much to ask that Air Force One is only used for government business and not for unnecessary photo ops and goofy summits that he creates in lieu of staying in DC and getting his job done. Must he have that plane out of the hanger everyday?
Then they need to start chopping. Get rid of NPR,EPA,NEA,FTC,FCC,DOE,SEC,IRS,NLRB and cut all the duplicate programs.I can't think of a single turtle that can read a sign leading it to a tunnel to cross the road safely. Don't know who would be enriched with a teapot museum, why update the utilities at a shopping mall that has been out of business for 10 years.Repave runways for an airport that only has 4 flights per day, ridiculous.Free bike helmets given out at a wealthy neighborhood in NY city.A cowboy poetry festival, a favorite of Dem Leader Reid. Can't overlook shrimp on a treadmill,or honey bees in Chili. Oil drilling in Brazil, study of gays using condoms in China. HOW DO THEY COME UP WITH ALL THE STUPID WAYS TO SPEND OUR MONEY?
The problem is that the people in Congress don't live here in the real world with the rest of us poor slobs who struggle day to day just to put food on the table. They probably don't have a clue what a loaf of bread costs or how much braces or glasses cost the average parent.How to stretch a dollar when you have only enough for bills and you can't fill a Rx. These millionaires, who voted themselves a raise.....JUST DON'T GET IT.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Misplaced outrage
Comedian Tracy Morgan has again apologized for nasty comments he made stating what he would do if his son turned gay. The whole country, as told by the media, is in an uproar,demanding his head. I don't approve of stupid remarks made by idiots for any reason, but I want to know where is the same outrage for the remarks comedian Chris Titus made about killing Sarah Palin.Funny how "selective outrage" is the vogue. I hear deafening silence on this matter. Where's the outrage now?
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
God's Pharmacy
It's been said that God first separated the salt water from the fresh, made dry land, planted a garden, made animals and fish... All before making a human. He made and provided what we'd need before we were born. These are best & more powerful when eaten raw. We're such slow learners...
God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glyceamic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
God left us a great clue as to what foods help what part of our body!
A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye... And YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.
A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.
Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.
A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.
Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.
Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.
Avocadoes, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.
Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glyceamic index of diabetics.
Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries
Oranges, Grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.
Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Similar problems down under.
A letter from a friend who lives in Australia
Entitlement’ my butt, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout !! Governement benefits, aka free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement, an ‘entitlement’ !!!!!!....
What the HELL's wrong with us?
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA
Someone please tell me what's wrong with all the people that run this country!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.,!
In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti , Chile , Turkey , Indonesia,
Cambodia, Vietnam ,Somalia ,Chad and now Pakistan ......home of Bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!
Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!
They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when it’s time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place?
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
AUSTRALIA; a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, elderly going without 'needed' meds, and mentally ill without treatment -etc.
YET,they have a 'Benefit' for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors, and medical supplies.
Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.
Sad isn't it?
America isn't along in poor leadership and giving till it hurts. What is wrong in this crazy world?
Entitlement’ my butt, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout !! Governement benefits, aka free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my retirement, an ‘entitlement’ !!!!!!....
What the HELL's wrong with us?
WAKE UP AUSTRALIA
Someone please tell me what's wrong with all the people that run this country!
We're "broke" & can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless etc.,!
In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti , Chile , Turkey , Indonesia,
Cambodia, Vietnam ,Somalia ,Chad and now Pakistan ......home of Bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!
Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!
They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when it’s time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place?
We have hundreds of adoptable children who are shoved aside to make room for the adoption of foreign orphans.
AUSTRALIA; a country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed hungry, elderly going without 'needed' meds, and mentally ill without treatment -etc.
YET,they have a 'Benefit' for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations, ships and planes lining up with food, water, tents, clothes, bedding, doctors, and medical supplies.
Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.
Sad isn't it?
America isn't along in poor leadership and giving till it hurts. What is wrong in this crazy world?
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Missing Robbie on Father's Day
Today is Father's Day. Sadly, my children's father is no longer with us. Now it is just another difficult day we HAVE to get through.
As I look back over the years, I remember all the precious moments this amazing man gave his kids. Whether it was riding them on his shoulders so they could see the parade, or standing by their side as they rode the carousel for the first time. Precious moments locked in time. Locked in our hearts to be recalled on days such as this.
This man drove 38 miles each way to work, everyday for 40 years so that his children could live in a better school district.Putting their needs above his convenience. Winters were especially scary. Little noses pressed against the front room window, watching for daddy, who was very late due to the storm.
The reassuring drive, taking a child to college, to live away from home for the first time.Daddy always made it exciting.Hauling in the heavy boxes and setting up the "new" living quarters with such enthusiasm it lended excitement to the moment.
Holidays were so joyful. Daddy was the biggest kid of all. Nobody loved secrets or surprised more than he. Nobody got more enjoyment out of a holiday meal and certainly nobody got greater joy from having all his people around him than daddy.He loved company and was in his element when his kids were teasing him,mussing his hair or listening to his goofy jokes and rolling with laughter as though they were really funny.
There was never a time when the kids where leaving after a visit that he didn't walk each one of them to their car, remind them to buckle up and tell them " I LOVE YOU". He always wanted to make sure they had enough gas to get home, and the usual father thing "when was the last time we changed your oil? How's the air pressure in your tires?"
His every concern was for the health, welfare, and love of his kids. He taught them to be morally straight, physically fit,emotionally sound,self confident, and ready to face the world head on.
We lost him when his first granddaughter was only 4 years old. He so adored this little girl. Nothing can match the gleam in a granddaddy's eye as when he is having tea with a human dress up doll.His first grandson had just turned one. The fishing trip granddaddy wanted to take would never happen.Sadly, he never knew he would have 3 more of the most precious grandchildren, 2 little boys and a little girl. Three little boys on a fishing trip with granddaddy is an unrealized dream. A tea party with 2 fussy little dress up girlie girls would have been his delight.We make sure these little ones know granddaddy from his picture.
So as we struggle to get through today, I just reflect on this amazing man. The man I married in my youth, and loved my whole life. How much I miss you darling. You gave me overwhelming joy and years of happiness, and I will be in your arms again one day.
As I look back over the years, I remember all the precious moments this amazing man gave his kids. Whether it was riding them on his shoulders so they could see the parade, or standing by their side as they rode the carousel for the first time. Precious moments locked in time. Locked in our hearts to be recalled on days such as this.
This man drove 38 miles each way to work, everyday for 40 years so that his children could live in a better school district.Putting their needs above his convenience. Winters were especially scary. Little noses pressed against the front room window, watching for daddy, who was very late due to the storm.
The reassuring drive, taking a child to college, to live away from home for the first time.Daddy always made it exciting.Hauling in the heavy boxes and setting up the "new" living quarters with such enthusiasm it lended excitement to the moment.
Holidays were so joyful. Daddy was the biggest kid of all. Nobody loved secrets or surprised more than he. Nobody got more enjoyment out of a holiday meal and certainly nobody got greater joy from having all his people around him than daddy.He loved company and was in his element when his kids were teasing him,mussing his hair or listening to his goofy jokes and rolling with laughter as though they were really funny.
There was never a time when the kids where leaving after a visit that he didn't walk each one of them to their car, remind them to buckle up and tell them " I LOVE YOU". He always wanted to make sure they had enough gas to get home, and the usual father thing "when was the last time we changed your oil? How's the air pressure in your tires?"
His every concern was for the health, welfare, and love of his kids. He taught them to be morally straight, physically fit,emotionally sound,self confident, and ready to face the world head on.
We lost him when his first granddaughter was only 4 years old. He so adored this little girl. Nothing can match the gleam in a granddaddy's eye as when he is having tea with a human dress up doll.His first grandson had just turned one. The fishing trip granddaddy wanted to take would never happen.Sadly, he never knew he would have 3 more of the most precious grandchildren, 2 little boys and a little girl. Three little boys on a fishing trip with granddaddy is an unrealized dream. A tea party with 2 fussy little dress up girlie girls would have been his delight.We make sure these little ones know granddaddy from his picture.
So as we struggle to get through today, I just reflect on this amazing man. The man I married in my youth, and loved my whole life. How much I miss you darling. You gave me overwhelming joy and years of happiness, and I will be in your arms again one day.
Letter from Campaign for Liberty
The South Carolina Policy Council just released some great research that describes what our state government should look like after the elimination of the Budget and Control Board.
You can read a short summary here, and the full policy paper here.
A couple of weeks ago, on the last day of regular session, your quick calls to your Senator helped get an amendment to the Department of Administration bill, H3066, passed. This amendment was a great step in the right direction.
But, after reading this policy paper, “Restructuring Done Right”, it is apparent that there is still much that needs to be changed in this bill.
The Budget and Control Board (BCB) has been around for 61 years.
We might not have another chance to get this restructuring right for another 61 years.
Let’s don’t settle for half measures that don’t truly create a state government structure that is accountable to the people.
So, what is wrong with H3066 as amended, and what can be done to improve it?
The current bill, as amended, will eliminate the BCB but replace it with the State Financial Affairs Authority. The SFAA, though smaller than the BCB, is still a hybrid five-headed monster…just a smaller one.
The SFAA is really just the Budget and Control Board Lite.
Its structure and responsibility is so similar to the BCB that it’s hard to tell the difference.
It is still managed by the Governor, the State Treasurer, the Comptroller General, one Senator and one Representative.
The SFAA would still be in charge of fiscal oversight, procurement, bond approval, and insurance services.
These areas of government represent billions of dollars for which no branch of government is completely responsible, thus not completely accountable to you.
So, what should be the goal of restructuring government?
It’s not just creating a Department of Administration.
It’s not just eliminating the Budget and Control Board.
It is about putting responsibility and accountability together with the right people in the right branch of government.
It is about not letting either branch pass the buck of responsibility to a Budget and Control Board, or a State Financial Affairs Authority.
It is about direct accountability of the Executive Branch.
It is about direct accountability of the Legislative Branch.
It is about eliminating any “hybrid” organizations controlled by both branches jointly that allows them each to point at the other when it comes time to “buck up” and take responsibility for the hard decisions.
No more extra layers of government that blur accountability.
This is what the Policy Council proposes. All the hybrid functions of the Budget and Control Board must be divided up and reside completely in one branch or the other.
That is the only way that you will be able to hold someone responsible for the tough decisions that affect your life.
So, take a look at the quick fact sheet, and if you are a details person, read the complete research paper.
Then contact your Senator and tell him you want no more hybrids. Tell him you want a real restructuring bill that will implement the reforms outlined by the Policy Council.
Don’t let them tell you that some functions need to be managed by both branches. It just isn’t true.
You can find your Senator and his contact information at this link.
As of this writing, Senator Davis and others are working on an amendment that will implement these policy proposals. As soon as it is available, I’ll get it out to you for your review.
We may not get another chance like this.
Let’s go for the gold!
Let’s make South Carolina an example of accountability!
Thanks for all you do!
Talbert Black Jr.
Interim State Coordinator
Campaign for Liberty
P.S. Remember, we need real substantial government restructuring that puts responsibility and accountability together and eliminates any “hybrid” organizations controlled by both the Legislative and Executive branches of government
Read this short fact sheet by the Policy Council or this more detailed research paper that proposes exactly that.
Then contact your Senator and tell him you want the real reform proposed by the Policy Council. Not the half measures in the current Department of Administration bill.
You can read a short summary here, and the full policy paper here.
A couple of weeks ago, on the last day of regular session, your quick calls to your Senator helped get an amendment to the Department of Administration bill, H3066, passed. This amendment was a great step in the right direction.
But, after reading this policy paper, “Restructuring Done Right”, it is apparent that there is still much that needs to be changed in this bill.
The Budget and Control Board (BCB) has been around for 61 years.
We might not have another chance to get this restructuring right for another 61 years.
Let’s don’t settle for half measures that don’t truly create a state government structure that is accountable to the people.
So, what is wrong with H3066 as amended, and what can be done to improve it?
The current bill, as amended, will eliminate the BCB but replace it with the State Financial Affairs Authority. The SFAA, though smaller than the BCB, is still a hybrid five-headed monster…just a smaller one.
The SFAA is really just the Budget and Control Board Lite.
Its structure and responsibility is so similar to the BCB that it’s hard to tell the difference.
It is still managed by the Governor, the State Treasurer, the Comptroller General, one Senator and one Representative.
The SFAA would still be in charge of fiscal oversight, procurement, bond approval, and insurance services.
These areas of government represent billions of dollars for which no branch of government is completely responsible, thus not completely accountable to you.
So, what should be the goal of restructuring government?
It’s not just creating a Department of Administration.
It’s not just eliminating the Budget and Control Board.
It is about putting responsibility and accountability together with the right people in the right branch of government.
It is about not letting either branch pass the buck of responsibility to a Budget and Control Board, or a State Financial Affairs Authority.
It is about direct accountability of the Executive Branch.
It is about direct accountability of the Legislative Branch.
It is about eliminating any “hybrid” organizations controlled by both branches jointly that allows them each to point at the other when it comes time to “buck up” and take responsibility for the hard decisions.
No more extra layers of government that blur accountability.
This is what the Policy Council proposes. All the hybrid functions of the Budget and Control Board must be divided up and reside completely in one branch or the other.
That is the only way that you will be able to hold someone responsible for the tough decisions that affect your life.
So, take a look at the quick fact sheet, and if you are a details person, read the complete research paper.
Then contact your Senator and tell him you want no more hybrids. Tell him you want a real restructuring bill that will implement the reforms outlined by the Policy Council.
Don’t let them tell you that some functions need to be managed by both branches. It just isn’t true.
You can find your Senator and his contact information at this link.
As of this writing, Senator Davis and others are working on an amendment that will implement these policy proposals. As soon as it is available, I’ll get it out to you for your review.
We may not get another chance like this.
Let’s go for the gold!
Let’s make South Carolina an example of accountability!
Thanks for all you do!
Talbert Black Jr.
Interim State Coordinator
Campaign for Liberty
P.S. Remember, we need real substantial government restructuring that puts responsibility and accountability together and eliminates any “hybrid” organizations controlled by both the Legislative and Executive branches of government
Read this short fact sheet by the Policy Council or this more detailed research paper that proposes exactly that.
Then contact your Senator and tell him you want the real reform proposed by the Policy Council. Not the half measures in the current Department of Administration bill.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Caylee Anthony
Looking at the pictures of this amazingly adorable little girl I have to wonder what kind of a monster could take away the life of this angel.Watching grown people nearly trample each other to garner one of the few seats available, makes me sick to my stomach.What kind of a nation are we becoming?
The bogus theory is that the child drowned in the pool and the grandfather left it to Casey to clean up the aftermath. Does anyone of us believe anyone could hold, feed, bath, cloth, etc. a child for 2 years and then when the child dies, even it if was an accident, take the child to the woods so that animals could pick the bones clean? That to me is even more hideous than if the child was killed on purpose. There is something so sick about leaving the child in the woods. Not only is it sick, it is ghoulish.
This young party animal probably used the chloroform to make her sleep, covered her mouth to keep her quiet and went to party. She probably was high on drugs or drunk and she probably forgot the baby was in the car trunk. The child probably suffocated and died while mommy was being the life of the party. She was probably still high when she discovered the dead baby and in a panic took her to the woods and disposed of her like a bag of trash.
As a grandmother I am sickened to the core. As a Christian I will never understand the killing of another human especially a baby. I just want to see justice done for this precious little life.
The bogus theory is that the child drowned in the pool and the grandfather left it to Casey to clean up the aftermath. Does anyone of us believe anyone could hold, feed, bath, cloth, etc. a child for 2 years and then when the child dies, even it if was an accident, take the child to the woods so that animals could pick the bones clean? That to me is even more hideous than if the child was killed on purpose. There is something so sick about leaving the child in the woods. Not only is it sick, it is ghoulish.
This young party animal probably used the chloroform to make her sleep, covered her mouth to keep her quiet and went to party. She probably was high on drugs or drunk and she probably forgot the baby was in the car trunk. The child probably suffocated and died while mommy was being the life of the party. She was probably still high when she discovered the dead baby and in a panic took her to the woods and disposed of her like a bag of trash.
As a grandmother I am sickened to the core. As a Christian I will never understand the killing of another human especially a baby. I just want to see justice done for this precious little life.
Gabby Giffords
Best wishes to Gabby Gifford as she returns home today. What an amazing young woman. The strength to survive being shot in the head in an assassination attempt can only be called a miracle.
I wish her a full recovery and hope that she will be able to return to her job representing the people of Tuscan in Washington.
The beautiful smile in her just released photo shows a strong, determined woman, ready to move on with her life. She is a great example to the rest of us who tend to dwell on troubles of the past.
We need to stop all the anger and stop the heated rhetoric when anyone disagrees with us. IT is not only childish, but harmful. It creates an atmosphere of chaos and it doesn't serve any of us.
We are Americans and we need to pull together to rebuild our country. We can't let evil prevail and cause us to become the same kind of monster who shot Rep.Giffords.
Let's rebuild our country and become a strong nation who pull together for the betterment of all.
I wish her a full recovery and hope that she will be able to return to her job representing the people of Tuscan in Washington.
The beautiful smile in her just released photo shows a strong, determined woman, ready to move on with her life. She is a great example to the rest of us who tend to dwell on troubles of the past.
We need to stop all the anger and stop the heated rhetoric when anyone disagrees with us. IT is not only childish, but harmful. It creates an atmosphere of chaos and it doesn't serve any of us.
We are Americans and we need to pull together to rebuild our country. We can't let evil prevail and cause us to become the same kind of monster who shot Rep.Giffords.
Let's rebuild our country and become a strong nation who pull together for the betterment of all.
Friday, June 17, 2011
annonymous email I received
If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps was played; this brings out a new meaning of it
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, 'Taps'. It's the song that gives us the lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Elli was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia . The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Elli heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as 'Taps' used at military funerals was born.
The words are:
Day is done.
Gone the sun.
From the lakes
From the hills.
From the sky.
All is well.
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light.
Dims the sight.
And a star.
Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright.
From afar.
Drawing nigh.
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise.
For our days.
Neath the sun
Neath the stars.
Neath the sky
As we go.
This we know.
God is nigh.
I too have felt the chills while listening to 'Taps' but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along. I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.
We in the United States have all heard the haunting song, 'Taps'. It's the song that gives us the lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings.
Reportedly, it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Elli was with his men near Harrison's Landing in Virginia . The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land.
During the night, Captain Elli heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention. Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment.
When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead.
The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light, he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army.
The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status. His request was only partially granted.
The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral.
The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician.
The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform.
This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as 'Taps' used at military funerals was born.
The words are:
Day is done.
Gone the sun.
From the lakes
From the hills.
From the sky.
All is well.
Safely rest.
God is nigh.
Fading light.
Dims the sight.
And a star.
Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright.
From afar.
Drawing nigh.
Falls the night.
Thanks and praise.
For our days.
Neath the sun
Neath the stars.
Neath the sky
As we go.
This we know.
God is nigh.
I too have felt the chills while listening to 'Taps' but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along. I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before.
Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country.Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.
Empty seat in NY
Another seat is going to open up in New York with the resignation of Anthony Weiner. Let's hope for a replacement of this dirtbag with a good conservative candidate who will get in there and fight the good fight for the people of New York.
Weiner was not only combative, but so arrogant and obnoxious. Little wonder he didn't have support even among his peers. When you get too obnoxious for the left you are a really, really bad candidate. They have some real lulus in Pelosi, Frank, Rangel among others, so it looks like even among the lousy, Weiner was a bottom feeder.
All I can say is so long.....you gave us all a good laugh.
Weiner was not only combative, but so arrogant and obnoxious. Little wonder he didn't have support even among his peers. When you get too obnoxious for the left you are a really, really bad candidate. They have some real lulus in Pelosi, Frank, Rangel among others, so it looks like even among the lousy, Weiner was a bottom feeder.
All I can say is so long.....you gave us all a good laugh.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Message from Matt Hawes VP Citizens for Liberty
Why is Texas Governor Rick Perry afraid to stand up to the Obama Administration's TSA now when it really matters?
Well, since Governor Perry fancies himself a national Republican leaders, maybe if you and tens of thousands of Campaign for Liberty activists contact him, he will rediscover his political nerve.
As I've written to you before, the Texas legislature is willing to push back against the out-of-control TSA and its screening policies of groping and electronically ogling airline passengers - even the elderly, vets and young children.
However, before lawmakers can act during this special session of the legislature, Governor Perry must first add the bill to the list of legislation to be considered.
And as of today, despite the pleas of all leading liberty Republicans in the Texas legislature - and thousands grassroots liberty and Tea Party patriots, led by our local Texas volunteers - Rick Perry refuses to do anything.
Please take a moment today to call Governor Perry at (512) 463-1782 and ask him to fight for Texas and every American against the TSA.
Right now, all of his limited government, state sovereignty words over the last couple of years are apparently just empty rhetoric.
While Texas waits, impatiently, for its Governor's record to catch up to his rhetoric, Perry has apparently his eyes set on Washington – but not because he's standing up to it.
You see, Texas State Rep. David Simpson previously sponsored this commonsense bill to prohibit officials from groping people's privates as a condition for them to travel or enter a public building.
Despite the bill passing the Texas State House unanimously, it never received a vote in the Senate due partly to procedural rules after a threatening letter was sent from TSA.
Rick Perry is the only man standing in the way of allowing Texas to challenge the TSA and potentially set off a chain reaction of legislation in other states to end the TSA's abuses once and for all.
Please, call Governor Perry at (512) 463-1782. Demand he back up his rhetoric and stand up for states' rights by bringing up HB 41 & SB 29 during the special session of the Texas state legislature.
Make sure he knows actions speak far louder than words.
This bill would set precedent far outside of just Texas; this is a problem with national implications. If Rick Perry fails to act, then he's proven to the entire nation that his words aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Well, since Governor Perry fancies himself a national Republican leaders, maybe if you and tens of thousands of Campaign for Liberty activists contact him, he will rediscover his political nerve.
As I've written to you before, the Texas legislature is willing to push back against the out-of-control TSA and its screening policies of groping and electronically ogling airline passengers - even the elderly, vets and young children.
However, before lawmakers can act during this special session of the legislature, Governor Perry must first add the bill to the list of legislation to be considered.
And as of today, despite the pleas of all leading liberty Republicans in the Texas legislature - and thousands grassroots liberty and Tea Party patriots, led by our local Texas volunteers - Rick Perry refuses to do anything.
Please take a moment today to call Governor Perry at (512) 463-1782 and ask him to fight for Texas and every American against the TSA.
Right now, all of his limited government, state sovereignty words over the last couple of years are apparently just empty rhetoric.
While Texas waits, impatiently, for its Governor's record to catch up to his rhetoric, Perry has apparently his eyes set on Washington – but not because he's standing up to it.
You see, Texas State Rep. David Simpson previously sponsored this commonsense bill to prohibit officials from groping people's privates as a condition for them to travel or enter a public building.
Despite the bill passing the Texas State House unanimously, it never received a vote in the Senate due partly to procedural rules after a threatening letter was sent from TSA.
Rick Perry is the only man standing in the way of allowing Texas to challenge the TSA and potentially set off a chain reaction of legislation in other states to end the TSA's abuses once and for all.
Please, call Governor Perry at (512) 463-1782. Demand he back up his rhetoric and stand up for states' rights by bringing up HB 41 & SB 29 during the special session of the Texas state legislature.
Make sure he knows actions speak far louder than words.
This bill would set precedent far outside of just Texas; this is a problem with national implications. If Rick Perry fails to act, then he's proven to the entire nation that his words aren't worth the paper they're printed on.
Obama's economy "sluggish" WH not focused on Jobs
June 13, 2011 | Posted by Speaker Boehner's Press Office | Permalink
In the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) highlighted the Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators and says Washington needs to “focus our efforts toward growing the private sector, where jobs are created.” But even with President Obama’s economy “faltering” and “sluggish,” the White House isn’t focused on jobs. Read more below and watch the full address by Rep. Kinzinger here:
Republicans Are Listening to the American People & Have a Plan for “Jobs-Focused Governing”:
Republicans spent last week talking with families and small businesses about A Plan for America’s Job Creators, the GOP job creation plan that builds on the Pledge to America with measures designed to remove government obstacles to private-sector job growth.
In Ohio, Speaker Boehner said, “We need to reduce the regulatory burden and the regulatory uncertainty that's coming out of Washington” to help create new jobs.
Learn more: A Plan for America’s Job Creators | The Path to Prosperity | American Energy Initiative | The Pledge to America
The White House Isn’t Focused on Jobs:
Instead of putting forward a serious job creation plan, President Obama referred to the latest disappointing jobs report as a “blip” …
…but the government official whose job it is to collect the unemployment data says the report actually reflects a “general weakening in job growth.”
The White House admitted the president no longer holds daily economic briefings.
Jobless claims are up, the “double dip” in housing prices is “worse than expected,” and consumer confidence is falling – all part of President Obama’s economy.
Americans’ Disapproval Puts the Spotlight on President Obama’s Failed Economic Policies:
A majority of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s handling of the economy and “more than eight in ten Americans say that the economy is in poor shape.”
The Obama Administration’s de facto energy moratorium has cost jobs and led to a 16 percent decrease in American energy production.
A survey by McKinsey & Company says businesses planning for the onslaught of ObamaCare taxes, mandates, regulations, and penalties have two choices: stop offering health care for their employees, or eliminate full-time jobs and keep wages low. Read more.
No wonder so many out-of-work Americans are giving up on the Obama economy.
In the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) highlighted the Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators and says Washington needs to “focus our efforts toward growing the private sector, where jobs are created.” But even with President Obama’s economy “faltering” and “sluggish,” the White House isn’t focused on jobs. Read more below and watch the full address by Rep. Kinzinger here:
Republicans Are Listening to the American People & Have a Plan for “Jobs-Focused Governing”:
Republicans spent last week talking with families and small businesses about A Plan for America’s Job Creators, the GOP job creation plan that builds on the Pledge to America with measures designed to remove government obstacles to private-sector job growth.
In Ohio, Speaker Boehner said, “We need to reduce the regulatory burden and the regulatory uncertainty that's coming out of Washington” to help create new jobs.
Learn more: A Plan for America’s Job Creators | The Path to Prosperity | American Energy Initiative | The Pledge to America
The White House Isn’t Focused on Jobs:
Instead of putting forward a serious job creation plan, President Obama referred to the latest disappointing jobs report as a “blip” …
…but the government official whose job it is to collect the unemployment data says the report actually reflects a “general weakening in job growth.”
The White House admitted the president no longer holds daily economic briefings.
Jobless claims are up, the “double dip” in housing prices is “worse than expected,” and consumer confidence is falling – all part of President Obama’s economy.
Americans’ Disapproval Puts the Spotlight on President Obama’s Failed Economic Policies:
A majority of Americans disapprove of President Obama’s handling of the economy and “more than eight in ten Americans say that the economy is in poor shape.”
The Obama Administration’s de facto energy moratorium has cost jobs and led to a 16 percent decrease in American energy production.
A survey by McKinsey & Company says businesses planning for the onslaught of ObamaCare taxes, mandates, regulations, and penalties have two choices: stop offering health care for their employees, or eliminate full-time jobs and keep wages low. Read more.
No wonder so many out-of-work Americans are giving up on the Obama economy.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
A Note From Mike Huckabee
A bombshell study that found 30 percent of employers would likely stop offering their workers health care benefits if Obamacare isn't repealed is under fire from the left. The White House claims the poll by McKinsey Consulting is inaccurate, biased, and doesn't jibe with other groups' findings. So Forbes analyst Avik Roy looked into the claims and found them less than convincing.
He discovered that some of the groups they claim the survey disagrees with, such as the Urban League, have actually issued the same warning. On the anti-Obama bias, McKinsey gave four times more money to Obama than to McCain, and the administration is filled with former McKinsey employees. As for the polling methods, Roy says they might have slanted toward their own clients who'd already been briefed by McKinsey on what Obamacare means. But McKinsey doesn't give political opinions, they give business advice. And if businesses agree that it would be in their best interests to dump their employees' health insurance, that's not political bias, it's just a fact of business life. Roy notes that the thing the Administration should be most worried about is the part of the poll that got no publicity. When you narrow it down to business owners who already know exactly what's in the Obamacare bill, the number who would dump their employee health care leaps to 50 percent.
He discovered that some of the groups they claim the survey disagrees with, such as the Urban League, have actually issued the same warning. On the anti-Obama bias, McKinsey gave four times more money to Obama than to McCain, and the administration is filled with former McKinsey employees. As for the polling methods, Roy says they might have slanted toward their own clients who'd already been briefed by McKinsey on what Obamacare means. But McKinsey doesn't give political opinions, they give business advice. And if businesses agree that it would be in their best interests to dump their employees' health insurance, that's not political bias, it's just a fact of business life. Roy notes that the thing the Administration should be most worried about is the part of the poll that got no publicity. When you narrow it down to business owners who already know exactly what's in the Obamacare bill, the number who would dump their employee health care leaps to 50 percent.
just for fun
In an office:
TOILET OUT OF ORDER...... PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW
In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT
In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN
In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD
Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?
Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR
Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.
On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)
TOILET OUT OF ORDER...... PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW
In a Laundromat:
AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT
In a London department store:
BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS
In an office:
WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN
In an office:
AFTER TEA BREAK STAFF SHOULD EMPTY THE TEAPOT AND STAND UPSIDE DOWN ON THE DRAINING BOARD
Outside a secondhand shop:
WE EXCHANGE ANYTHING - BICYCLES, WASHING MACHINES, ETC. WHY NOT BRING YOUR WIFE ALONG AND GET A WONDERFUL BARGAIN?
Notice in health food shop window:
CLOSED DUE TO ILLNESS
Spotted in a safari park:
ELEPHANTS PLEASE STAY IN YOUR CAR
Seen during a conference:
FOR ANYONE WHO HAS CHILDREN AND DOESN'T KNOW IT, THERE IS A DAY CARE ON THE 1ST FLOOR
Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES.
On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR - THE BELL DOESN'T WORK)
From the Chairman:
Week of June 13, 2011
We’ve Hit One Million Petitions!
In January we hand delivered more than half a million petitions to House of Representative leaders in a press conference outside the Capitol. The next day the House voted in veto-proof numbers to repeal the ObamaCare legislation that was never approved by the American people in the first place.
Since then our TV ads, Facebook site and phone outreach program have all been put into high gear to begin again—gathering so many petitions that Democratic Senators will “feel the heat” and then “see the light”. We have waited to begin delivering both print and voice petitions to the Senate until we have big numbers—including sufficient petitions from each state where votes are needed.
We think a million petitions is a good number to start delivery but how do we actually make sure they are seen and heard by Senate offices resisting the will of the people to repeal ObamaCare? We’ve decided that “hand delivery” may be old-fashioned but effective--still the best method to make sure that we’re heard.
Starting in early July I will personally visit each and every Senate Democrat’s office, armed with petitions from every corner of the nation. We’ll be starting where we have the very best hope of progress—the Senators who face the voters again next year. We’ll start with both Nelson’s—Bill from Florida and Ben from Nebraska. We’ll take the voice of the American people demanding repeal to Missouri’s Claire McCaskill’s office and then onto the office of Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Each remaining Democratic Senate office will also get visits and petitions.
We need four more votes. Four more won’t be “veto-proof” but will equal 51 votes in the Senate (together with 47 Republican Senators who have already voted for repeal). We’ve said it before but once again, here’s our reasoning—once both Houses of Congress have voted for repeal along with two federal courts ruling it unconstitutional, 26 states suing to get out and a determined majority of citizens who still favor repeal, the White House will have a toxic choice.
If Mr. Obama decides that his “signature issue” is more important than the will of the people and both Houses of Congress he will veto the repeal legislation. By doing so he will be making the strongest possible argument to voters that he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012.
Ken Hoagland, Chairman
RepealItNow.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Study Predicts that Three of Ten Employers Will Drop Healthcare Coverage
A disturbing new study reveals that of more than a thousand businesses surveyed, 30-50% will drop coverage, choosing instead to pay federal penalties rather than adopt new, higher cost coverage required by ObamaCare.
This new study by the McKinsey Group foretells a national healthcare disaster by 2014 when the law is fully implemented. The study also proves again that Mr. Obama’s repeated and exasperated statements that every American could keep the health insurance they like were nothing more than sound and fury signifying nothing truthful.
Another recent study revealed that family healthcare coverage will go up more than $2,100 a year because of ObamaCare. Others show that many doctors will quit and many more will stop taking Medicare patients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We Have Three Paths to Repeal
There are three primary paths to repeal of ObamaCare before even more damage is done to the healthcare system, the national economy and family budgets.
1. Put so much pressure on Democratic Senators that we win over just four more votes. Once the House and Senate are both on record as repealing ObamaCare only a Presidential veto will stop the bad law from being erased from the books.
2. Lawsuits by states and others result in more federal court rulings that ObamaCare is unconstitutional. These lawsuits are expected to make their way to the Supreme Court by summer, 2012. (The now infamous Rep. Anthony Weiner was leading a charge to see Clarence Thomas recuse himself from this case as Mrs. Thomas once worked for the Heritage Foundation which has been critical of ObamaCare.)
3. Those 22 Democratic Senator up for re-election next year are defeated and newly elected Senators take office in January 2013 and vote to repeal. There may also be a new President in the White House who supports repeal.
We favor “option one” for this reason: The legislative branch of our government ignored the “consent of the governed” when they voted for passage of ObamaCare. Every poll demonstrated then—and still do—that a majority of citizens were against passage. We didn’t like the intrusion into our lives with the universal mandate, we didn’t like the side deals made with Senators to buy votes and we didn’t like the cost or the very idea of a federal government takeover of healthcare.
It seems only fitting that the people of the United States now force the legislative branch to vote the will of the people. The House of Representatives has—good for them. Nearly half of the Senate has—good for them. Now we must open the ears of Democratic Senators like Bill Nelson of Florida and Clair McCaskill of Missouri who deliberately ignored and then voted against majority will of their bosses—the people of each state.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ObamaCare at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
This last week 26 states were heard by a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Two of the randomly selected judges are Clinton appointees and one was appointed by George W. Bush.
Appearing for the Administration was Neal Katyal, the Acting Solicitor General who previously got the go-ahead from now Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to “crush them” (the states and other ObamaCare plaintiffs).
Two of the judges seemed very critical of the government’s argument that the Constitution’s “Commerce Clause” allows Congress to require purchases by every citizen. “If they could compel this, what purchase could they not compel?” one judge asked. The states lawyer responded, ““It boils down to the question of whether the federal government can compel people into commerce to better regulate the individual.”
Mr. Katyal frighteningly responded that courts must provide wide leeway whenever Congress regulates any economic activity. In another argument he seemed to suggest that Americans could simply, “earn less” if they wanted to escape the mandatory coverage payments.
The court gave no indication of when it might rule.
We’ve Hit One Million Petitions!
In January we hand delivered more than half a million petitions to House of Representative leaders in a press conference outside the Capitol. The next day the House voted in veto-proof numbers to repeal the ObamaCare legislation that was never approved by the American people in the first place.
Since then our TV ads, Facebook site and phone outreach program have all been put into high gear to begin again—gathering so many petitions that Democratic Senators will “feel the heat” and then “see the light”. We have waited to begin delivering both print and voice petitions to the Senate until we have big numbers—including sufficient petitions from each state where votes are needed.
We think a million petitions is a good number to start delivery but how do we actually make sure they are seen and heard by Senate offices resisting the will of the people to repeal ObamaCare? We’ve decided that “hand delivery” may be old-fashioned but effective--still the best method to make sure that we’re heard.
Starting in early July I will personally visit each and every Senate Democrat’s office, armed with petitions from every corner of the nation. We’ll be starting where we have the very best hope of progress—the Senators who face the voters again next year. We’ll start with both Nelson’s—Bill from Florida and Ben from Nebraska. We’ll take the voice of the American people demanding repeal to Missouri’s Claire McCaskill’s office and then onto the office of Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Each remaining Democratic Senate office will also get visits and petitions.
We need four more votes. Four more won’t be “veto-proof” but will equal 51 votes in the Senate (together with 47 Republican Senators who have already voted for repeal). We’ve said it before but once again, here’s our reasoning—once both Houses of Congress have voted for repeal along with two federal courts ruling it unconstitutional, 26 states suing to get out and a determined majority of citizens who still favor repeal, the White House will have a toxic choice.
If Mr. Obama decides that his “signature issue” is more important than the will of the people and both Houses of Congress he will veto the repeal legislation. By doing so he will be making the strongest possible argument to voters that he does not deserve to be re-elected in 2012.
Ken Hoagland, Chairman
RepealItNow.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Study Predicts that Three of Ten Employers Will Drop Healthcare Coverage
A disturbing new study reveals that of more than a thousand businesses surveyed, 30-50% will drop coverage, choosing instead to pay federal penalties rather than adopt new, higher cost coverage required by ObamaCare.
This new study by the McKinsey Group foretells a national healthcare disaster by 2014 when the law is fully implemented. The study also proves again that Mr. Obama’s repeated and exasperated statements that every American could keep the health insurance they like were nothing more than sound and fury signifying nothing truthful.
Another recent study revealed that family healthcare coverage will go up more than $2,100 a year because of ObamaCare. Others show that many doctors will quit and many more will stop taking Medicare patients.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We Have Three Paths to Repeal
There are three primary paths to repeal of ObamaCare before even more damage is done to the healthcare system, the national economy and family budgets.
1. Put so much pressure on Democratic Senators that we win over just four more votes. Once the House and Senate are both on record as repealing ObamaCare only a Presidential veto will stop the bad law from being erased from the books.
2. Lawsuits by states and others result in more federal court rulings that ObamaCare is unconstitutional. These lawsuits are expected to make their way to the Supreme Court by summer, 2012. (The now infamous Rep. Anthony Weiner was leading a charge to see Clarence Thomas recuse himself from this case as Mrs. Thomas once worked for the Heritage Foundation which has been critical of ObamaCare.)
3. Those 22 Democratic Senator up for re-election next year are defeated and newly elected Senators take office in January 2013 and vote to repeal. There may also be a new President in the White House who supports repeal.
We favor “option one” for this reason: The legislative branch of our government ignored the “consent of the governed” when they voted for passage of ObamaCare. Every poll demonstrated then—and still do—that a majority of citizens were against passage. We didn’t like the intrusion into our lives with the universal mandate, we didn’t like the side deals made with Senators to buy votes and we didn’t like the cost or the very idea of a federal government takeover of healthcare.
It seems only fitting that the people of the United States now force the legislative branch to vote the will of the people. The House of Representatives has—good for them. Nearly half of the Senate has—good for them. Now we must open the ears of Democratic Senators like Bill Nelson of Florida and Clair McCaskill of Missouri who deliberately ignored and then voted against majority will of their bosses—the people of each state.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ObamaCare at the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals
This last week 26 states were heard by a three judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Two of the randomly selected judges are Clinton appointees and one was appointed by George W. Bush.
Appearing for the Administration was Neal Katyal, the Acting Solicitor General who previously got the go-ahead from now Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to “crush them” (the states and other ObamaCare plaintiffs).
Two of the judges seemed very critical of the government’s argument that the Constitution’s “Commerce Clause” allows Congress to require purchases by every citizen. “If they could compel this, what purchase could they not compel?” one judge asked. The states lawyer responded, ““It boils down to the question of whether the federal government can compel people into commerce to better regulate the individual.”
Mr. Katyal frighteningly responded that courts must provide wide leeway whenever Congress regulates any economic activity. In another argument he seemed to suggest that Americans could simply, “earn less” if they wanted to escape the mandatory coverage payments.
The court gave no indication of when it might rule.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
get rid of these people in 2012
After you read this go to Snopes, (click on hyperlink below) and read what they say, they say this is a mixture of "True and False". However if even one scintilla of it is true then we old dudes are in for a long and painful last few years...........
I thought you might find the following article from snopes.com interesting (and remember Snopes generally 'leans left'): http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/kithil.asp
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS...
At age 76 when you most need it, you are not eligible for cancer treatment
What Nancy Pelosi didn't want us to know until after the healthcare bill was passed.
Remember she said, "pass it and then read it!!." Here it is!
Obama Care Highlighted by Page Number
THE CARE BILL HB 3200
THIS IS THE 2ND OFFICIAL WHO HAS OUTLINED THESE PARTS OF THE CARE BILL.
Judge Kithil of Marble Falls, TX - highlighted the most egregious pages of HB3200
Please read this........
especially the reference to pages 58 & 59
JUDGE KITHIL wrote:
** Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally.
Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts.
** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN).
** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)
** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees.
** Page 272. section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age.
** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.
** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Death counseling..)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.
HAD ENOUGH???? Judge Kithil then goes on to identify:
"Finally, it is specifically stated that this bill will not apply to members of Congress. Members of Congress are already exempt from the Social Security system, and have a well-funded private plan that covers their retirement needs. If they were on our Social Security plan, I believe they would find a very quick 'fix' to make the plan financially sound for their future."
- Honorable David Kithil of Marble Falls, Texas
All of the above should give you the point blank ammo you need to support your opposition to Obamacare. Please send this information on to all of your email contacts.
Old Cowboy saying: It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
I thought you might find the following article from snopes.com interesting (and remember Snopes generally 'leans left'): http://www.snopes.com/politics/medical/kithil.asp
YOU ARE NOT GOING TO LIKE THIS...
At age 76 when you most need it, you are not eligible for cancer treatment
What Nancy Pelosi didn't want us to know until after the healthcare bill was passed.
Remember she said, "pass it and then read it!!." Here it is!
Obama Care Highlighted by Page Number
THE CARE BILL HB 3200
THIS IS THE 2ND OFFICIAL WHO HAS OUTLINED THESE PARTS OF THE CARE BILL.
Judge Kithil of Marble Falls, TX - highlighted the most egregious pages of HB3200
Please read this........
especially the reference to pages 58 & 59
JUDGE KITHIL wrote:
** Page 50/section 152: The bill will provide insurance to all non-U.S. residents, even if they are here illegally.
Page 58 and 59: The government will have real-time access to an individual's bank account and will have the authority to make electronic fund transfers from those accounts.
** Page 65/section 164: The plan will be subsidized (by the government) for all union members, union retirees and for community organizations (such as the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now - ACORN).
** Page 203/line 14-15: The tax imposed under this section will not be treated as a tax. (How could anybody in their right mind come up with that?)
** Page 241 and 253: Doctors will all be paid the same regardless of specialty, and the government will set all doctors' fees.
** Page 272. section 1145: Cancer hospital will ration care according to the patient's age.
** Page 317 and 321: The government will impose a prohibition on hospital expansion; however, communities may petition for an exception.
** Page 425, line 4-12: The government mandates advance-care planning consultations. Those on Social Security will be required to attend an "end-of-life planning" seminar every five years. (Death counseling..)
** Page 429, line 13-25: The government will specify which doctors can write an end-of-life order.
HAD ENOUGH???? Judge Kithil then goes on to identify:
"Finally, it is specifically stated that this bill will not apply to members of Congress. Members of Congress are already exempt from the Social Security system, and have a well-funded private plan that covers their retirement needs. If they were on our Social Security plan, I believe they would find a very quick 'fix' to make the plan financially sound for their future."
- Honorable David Kithil of Marble Falls, Texas
All of the above should give you the point blank ammo you need to support your opposition to Obamacare. Please send this information on to all of your email contacts.
Old Cowboy saying: It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
Dr. Charles Krauthammer Brief Summary
Fast Facts
a. Born: March 13, 1950
b. Birthplace: New York City , New York
c. Raised in Montreal , Canada
d. Attended McGill University and Harvard Medical School
e. 1972 diving accident left him a paraplegic
f. Directed psychiatric research for the Carter administration
g. Began writing career in 1981 with The New Republic
h. Helped develop the "Reagan Doctrine" in the 80s
i. A ppointed to Presidential Council on Bioethics in 2002
Dr. Charles Krauthammer
We see him on TV every weekday on the Fox news channel Dr. Krauthammer
is on Fox News . He is an M.D. A nd a lawyer and is paralyzed from the
neck down. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer. He listened
with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here, is NOT 2nd-hand
but 1st. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and
their children.
Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to
the Center for the American Experiment.. He is brilliant intellectual,
seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis,
and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear
monger nor an extremist in his comments and views . He is a fiscal
conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a
frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington
Post.
The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have summarized
his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and
internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he
said!
Summary of his comments:
1. Obama is an intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be
underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions.
It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the
Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do
not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the
perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton ... He
has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your
position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he S A YS;
rather,watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington
to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything,
including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his
ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and
wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and
punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the US A
to Great Britain or Canada ..
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and
NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about
the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early
bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle
growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is
his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000
people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go
through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive
R A TIONING of services, like in Canada ..
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No
one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to
try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This
obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather
he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of
revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left.
Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States
, but more as a ruler over the world.. He sees himself above it all,
trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their
agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour
in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America , as
an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great
noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first
President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain)
will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like
to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his
successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer
believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge
strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan, but there will
never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Chris Christie, Tim
Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February)
are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has
baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really
be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious
candidate in the future... We need to return to the party of lower
taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national
defense, and state's rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We
are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to
hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent
themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi
a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will
come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor
will the stimulus packages. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to
Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can
get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers
failed, fear and panic swept in,we had an unpopular President, and the
war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people
are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act
emotionally. Any Dem. would have won this election; it was surprising
it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be
swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If
it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the
economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening
in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on,
according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and
join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on
most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
a. Born: March 13, 1950
b. Birthplace: New York City , New York
c. Raised in Montreal , Canada
d. Attended McGill University and Harvard Medical School
e. 1972 diving accident left him a paraplegic
f. Directed psychiatric research for the Carter administration
g. Began writing career in 1981 with The New Republic
h. Helped develop the "Reagan Doctrine" in the 80s
i. A ppointed to Presidential Council on Bioethics in 2002
Dr. Charles Krauthammer
We see him on TV every weekday on the Fox news channel Dr. Krauthammer
is on Fox News . He is an M.D. A nd a lawyer and is paralyzed from the
neck down. A friend went to hear Charles Krauthammer. He listened
with 25 others in a closed room. What he says here, is NOT 2nd-hand
but 1st. The ramifications are staggering for us, our children and
their children.
Last Monday was a profound evening, Dr. Charles Krauthammer spoke to
the Center for the American Experiment.. He is brilliant intellectual,
seasoned & articulate. He is forthright and careful in his analysis,
and never resorts to emotions or personal insults. He is NOT a fear
monger nor an extremist in his comments and views . He is a fiscal
conservative, and has received a Pulitzer Prize for writing. He is a
frequent contributor to Fox News and writes weekly for the Washington
Post.
The entire room was held spellbound during his talk. I have summarized
his comments, as we are living in uncharted waters economically and
internationally. Even 2 Dems at my table agreed with everything he
said!
Summary of his comments:
1. Obama is an intellectual, charming individual. He is not to be
underestimated. He is a cool customer who doesn't show his emotions.
It's very hard to know what's behind the mask. The taking down of the
Clinton dynasty was an amazing accomplishment. The Clintons still do
not understand what hit them. Obama was in the perfect place at the
perfect time.
2. Obama has political skills comparable to Reagan and Clinton ... He
has a way of making you think he's on your side, agreeing with your
position, while doing the opposite. Pay no attention to what he S A YS;
rather,watch what he DOES!
3. Obama has a ruthless quest for power. He did not come to Washington
to make something out of himself, but rather to change everything,
including dismantling capitalism. He can't be straightforward on his
ambitions, as the public would not go along. He has a heavy hand, and
wants to level the playing field with income redistribution and
punishment to the achievers of society. He would like to model the US A
to Great Britain or Canada ..
4. His three main goals are to control ENERGY, PUBLIC EDUCATION, and
NATIONAL HEALTHCARE by the Federal government. He doesn't care about
the auto or financial services industries, but got them as an early
bonus. The cap and trade will add costs to everything and stifle
growth. Paying for FREE college education is his goal. Most scary is
his healthcare program, because if you make it FREE and add 46,000,000
people to a Medicare-type single-payer system, the costs will go
through the roof. The only way to control costs is with massive
R A TIONING of services, like in Canada ..
5. He has surrounded himself with mostly far-left academic types. No
one around him has ever even run a candy store. But they are going to
try and run the auto, financial, banking and other industries. This
obviously can't work in the long run. Obama is not a socialist; rather
he's a far-left secular progressive bent on nothing short of
revolution. He ran as a moderate, but will govern from the hard left.
Again, watch what he does, not what he says.
6. Obama doesn't really see himself as President of the United States
, but more as a ruler over the world.. He sees himself above it all,
trying to orchestrate & coordinate various countries and their
agendas. He sees moral equivalency in all cultures. His apology tour
in Germany and England was a prime example of how he sees America , as
an imperialist nation that has been arrogant, rather than a great
noble nation that has at times made errors. This is the first
President ever who has chastised our allies and appeased our enemies!
7. He is now handing out goodies. He hopes that the bill (and pain)
will not come due until after he is reelected in 2012. He would like
to blame all problems on Bush from the past, and hopefully his
successor in the future. He has a huge ego, and Dr. Krauthammer
believes he is a narcissist.
8. Republicans are in the wilderness for a while, but will emerge
strong. Republicans are pining for another Reagan, but there will
never be another like him. Krauthammer believes Chris Christie, Tim
Pawlenty & Bobby Jindahl (except for his terrible speech in February)
are the future of the party. Newt Gingrich is brilliant, but has
baggage. Sarah Palin is sincere and intelligent, but needs to really
be seriously boning up on facts and info if she is to be a serious
candidate in the future... We need to return to the party of lower
taxes, smaller government, personal responsibility, strong national
defense, and state's rights.
9. The current level of spending is irresponsible and outrageous. We
are spending trillions that we don't have. This could lead to
hyperinflation, depression or worse. No country has ever spent
themselves into prosperity. The media is giving Obama, Reid and Pelosi
a pass because they love their agenda. But eventually the bill will
come due and people will realize the huge bailouts didn't work, nor
will the stimulus packages. These were trillion-dollar payoffs to
Obama's allies, unions and the Congress to placate the left, so he can
get support for #4 above.
10. The election was over in mid-September when Lehman brothers
failed, fear and panic swept in,we had an unpopular President, and the
war was grinding on indefinitely without a clear outcome. The people
are in pain, and the mantra of change caused people to act
emotionally. Any Dem. would have won this election; it was surprising
it was as close as it was.
11. In 2012, if the unemployment rate is over 10%, Republicans will be
swept back into power. If it's under 8%, the Dems continue to roll. If
it's between 8-10%, it will be a dogfight. It will all be about the
economy. I hope this gets you really thinking about what's happening
in Washington and Congress. There is a left-wing revolution going on,
according to Krauthammer, and he encourages us to keep the faith and
join the loyal resistance. The work will be hard, but we're right on
most issues and can reclaim our country, before it's far too late.
Water rights
Last week, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing about the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act. The bill, which is co-authored by valley Republicans Devin Nunes, Kevin McCarthy, and Jeff Denham, generated strong opposition from Democrat lawmakers but has the backing of a re-invigorated Republican Conference and its leadership.
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy made a rare appearance at the subcommittee hearing in support of the bill and reminded his colleagues that Governor Brown had declared an end to California’s drought. He continued that California’s snow-pack had reached 165% this year but that farmers would not get 100% of their water. “That’s like a company having its best profits ever but telling its employees they will only get 80% of their paycheck,” said McCarthy. “That’s unacceptable.”
Nunes and his allies are seeking to achieve several major changes to the management of California’s water infrastructure. Their plan includes the restoration of a bipartisan agreement known as the Bay-Delta Accord. It also revamps the San Joaquin River restoration, replacing it with an economically responsible and environmentally feasible fishery— saving taxpayers a billion dollars.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), who had touted the Delta Accord as a model agreement in the 1990s, shifted position dramatically and equated it as a declaration of war with no hope of Senate passage. Shortly after the hearing, California’s Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle, "I strongly oppose this bill, which I believe is dramatic overkill."
During his opening statement, Garemendi decried the bill’s pre-emption of state law saying “this little piece of genius” would end collaboration between state and federal water projects. The bill “makes it virtually impossible,” he said. Westlands representative Tom Birmingham took aim at Garamendi’s interpretation of the bill and corrected him on historic and current operation of the projects. Federal law already pre-empts state law concerning project operations on the Trinity, he reminded the committee, and there was no similar outrage when that pre-emption occurred.
When asked about opposition from Senate Democrats, Nunes said he was disappointed but not surprised. “This is a declaration of war on the only meaningful plan before Congress to solve the San Joaquin Valley water crisis.” Nunes continued that if “California’s senators would change their tune if Congress imposed a 70% reduction on deliveries from Hetch Hetchy. Senator Feinstein would no doubt be happy to hand the City of San Francisco’s water over unconditionally since she thinks it will save the Delta.”
Feinstein transmitted her official opposition to the bill just days after attending a fundraiser at Harris Ranch, which is located in the San Joaquin Valley—only miles from water starved farmland. According to those in attendance, Feinstein committed to working on a solution. “I don’t see how anyone with valley interests in mind can trust them, which is why I have been talking to Senate Republicans,” said Nunes.
Nunes also sought to remind critics that there are many options on the table to gain passage of legislation and that he would be leveraging all of them to aid the San Joaquin Valley. This will undoubtedly keep the bill’s opponents on their toes. House Appropriators have already stripped funding for the San Joaquin River Settlement from the federal budget, a major blow to the plan which is already off schedule and underfunded.
Once lawmakers had completed their opening remarks, testimony was received from local water districts, as well as state and federal representatives. Obama and Brown Administration officials opposed the bill, maintaining their view that the Delta pumps were damaging the ecosystem, impacting a number of species including the smelt, salmon and killer whale. Administration officials also touted the importance of current policies, which they described as balanced, to protect the Delta ecosystem.
Advocates of H.R. 1837 were quick to note, however, that no new evidence was provided to support these conclusions. The disclosure of scientific evidence to support pumping restrictions was made necessary by a U.S. District Court ruling in May. The court determined that the government had failed to base its decisions on science and sent regulators back to the drawing table.
Kole Upton, a Madera farmer and former San Joaquin River Settlement negotiator, rejected Interior’s testimony that current policies were balanced and called for the replacement of the current river restoration plan as envisioned by H.R. 1837. Upton explained that farmers were being subject to a slow death due to water diversions and that broken promises related to the San Joaquin river deal convinced him to seek changes.
The Kern County Water Agency also offered testimony, indicating that H.R. 1837 would restore stability to the Delta and improve water supplies. The agency’s representative, James Beck, said that all water contractors, state and federal, would be protected under the proposed law— supporting Nunes’ contention that his goal is not to harm any water contractors. This testimony undermined one of the key arguments made by bill opponents, which suggest that a small minority would benefit under the bill.
When asked about the allegation that his bill would come at the expense of other water contractors and the environment, Nunes was dismissive. “They are attempting to deceive the public which is the only way they can survive. They think they can obstruct this legislation by dividing California’s embattled water districts and hiding their own financial interests. It won’t work.”
Nunes then described an alliance of convenience between environmental activists, a small number of Delta farmers and salmon fishermen, indicating that each will likely be represented at an additional hearing called by committee Democrats who are attempting to slow passage of the bill. “They have all benefited from the status quo. Delta farmers have been able to hide from reality on their islands, fishermen have filled their pockets with tax dollars, and radical environmentalists have assumed greater control over the state’s water,” said Nunes.
Delta farmers may fear the upending of current water management policies because those policies have to-date placed the financial and operational burdens for Delta restoration on others – primarily south of Delta water contractors. Under current law, little attention has been paid to this small but vocal group of farmers who enjoy unlimited access to the Delta’s fresh water supplies. During panel questioning, Rep. Jeff Denham underscored the uneven burden placed on water contractors by pointing out that San Francisco secures its water via pipeline from Hetch Hetchy, completely bypassing the Delta. This has allowed Bay Area activists to escape the consequences of their actions while forcing others to make sacrifices.
Similarly, elements of the west’s small sport and commercial salmon fishing industries have benefited from the status quo. The 1,722 permit holding fishermen collected hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars from 2007-2009. Nunes calls this money a payoff for their environmental activism, which was enacted under Democratic supermajorities. Several recipients made out with more than half a million dollars, with 213 fishermen walking away with six figure checks. And while some have claimed that the industry is 100% unemployed, regulators documented deliveries of sardine, mackerel, anchovy, squid and other species, effectively refuting the allegation that salmon fishermen are unable to work.
Nunes says that despite controversy generated by these groups, House leaders remain unfazed. A markup and full House consideration will likely follow this summer. Meanwhile, San Joaquin Valley residents have benefited from significant exposure beyond the greater Central Valley. The region’s water crisis has been highlighted nationally and is followed by the Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity and others. In 2009, the Wall Street Journal opined that Central Valley farmers are California’s new endangered species. This prognosis may change if House Republicans succeed.
POSTED BY CONGRESSMAN DEVIN NUNES AT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 08, 2011
Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy made a rare appearance at the subcommittee hearing in support of the bill and reminded his colleagues that Governor Brown had declared an end to California’s drought. He continued that California’s snow-pack had reached 165% this year but that farmers would not get 100% of their water. “That’s like a company having its best profits ever but telling its employees they will only get 80% of their paycheck,” said McCarthy. “That’s unacceptable.”
Nunes and his allies are seeking to achieve several major changes to the management of California’s water infrastructure. Their plan includes the restoration of a bipartisan agreement known as the Bay-Delta Accord. It also revamps the San Joaquin River restoration, replacing it with an economically responsible and environmentally feasible fishery— saving taxpayers a billion dollars.
Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), who had touted the Delta Accord as a model agreement in the 1990s, shifted position dramatically and equated it as a declaration of war with no hope of Senate passage. Shortly after the hearing, California’s Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein told the San Francisco Chronicle, "I strongly oppose this bill, which I believe is dramatic overkill."
During his opening statement, Garemendi decried the bill’s pre-emption of state law saying “this little piece of genius” would end collaboration between state and federal water projects. The bill “makes it virtually impossible,” he said. Westlands representative Tom Birmingham took aim at Garamendi’s interpretation of the bill and corrected him on historic and current operation of the projects. Federal law already pre-empts state law concerning project operations on the Trinity, he reminded the committee, and there was no similar outrage when that pre-emption occurred.
When asked about opposition from Senate Democrats, Nunes said he was disappointed but not surprised. “This is a declaration of war on the only meaningful plan before Congress to solve the San Joaquin Valley water crisis.” Nunes continued that if “California’s senators would change their tune if Congress imposed a 70% reduction on deliveries from Hetch Hetchy. Senator Feinstein would no doubt be happy to hand the City of San Francisco’s water over unconditionally since she thinks it will save the Delta.”
Feinstein transmitted her official opposition to the bill just days after attending a fundraiser at Harris Ranch, which is located in the San Joaquin Valley—only miles from water starved farmland. According to those in attendance, Feinstein committed to working on a solution. “I don’t see how anyone with valley interests in mind can trust them, which is why I have been talking to Senate Republicans,” said Nunes.
Nunes also sought to remind critics that there are many options on the table to gain passage of legislation and that he would be leveraging all of them to aid the San Joaquin Valley. This will undoubtedly keep the bill’s opponents on their toes. House Appropriators have already stripped funding for the San Joaquin River Settlement from the federal budget, a major blow to the plan which is already off schedule and underfunded.
Once lawmakers had completed their opening remarks, testimony was received from local water districts, as well as state and federal representatives. Obama and Brown Administration officials opposed the bill, maintaining their view that the Delta pumps were damaging the ecosystem, impacting a number of species including the smelt, salmon and killer whale. Administration officials also touted the importance of current policies, which they described as balanced, to protect the Delta ecosystem.
Advocates of H.R. 1837 were quick to note, however, that no new evidence was provided to support these conclusions. The disclosure of scientific evidence to support pumping restrictions was made necessary by a U.S. District Court ruling in May. The court determined that the government had failed to base its decisions on science and sent regulators back to the drawing table.
Kole Upton, a Madera farmer and former San Joaquin River Settlement negotiator, rejected Interior’s testimony that current policies were balanced and called for the replacement of the current river restoration plan as envisioned by H.R. 1837. Upton explained that farmers were being subject to a slow death due to water diversions and that broken promises related to the San Joaquin river deal convinced him to seek changes.
The Kern County Water Agency also offered testimony, indicating that H.R. 1837 would restore stability to the Delta and improve water supplies. The agency’s representative, James Beck, said that all water contractors, state and federal, would be protected under the proposed law— supporting Nunes’ contention that his goal is not to harm any water contractors. This testimony undermined one of the key arguments made by bill opponents, which suggest that a small minority would benefit under the bill.
When asked about the allegation that his bill would come at the expense of other water contractors and the environment, Nunes was dismissive. “They are attempting to deceive the public which is the only way they can survive. They think they can obstruct this legislation by dividing California’s embattled water districts and hiding their own financial interests. It won’t work.”
Nunes then described an alliance of convenience between environmental activists, a small number of Delta farmers and salmon fishermen, indicating that each will likely be represented at an additional hearing called by committee Democrats who are attempting to slow passage of the bill. “They have all benefited from the status quo. Delta farmers have been able to hide from reality on their islands, fishermen have filled their pockets with tax dollars, and radical environmentalists have assumed greater control over the state’s water,” said Nunes.
Delta farmers may fear the upending of current water management policies because those policies have to-date placed the financial and operational burdens for Delta restoration on others – primarily south of Delta water contractors. Under current law, little attention has been paid to this small but vocal group of farmers who enjoy unlimited access to the Delta’s fresh water supplies. During panel questioning, Rep. Jeff Denham underscored the uneven burden placed on water contractors by pointing out that San Francisco secures its water via pipeline from Hetch Hetchy, completely bypassing the Delta. This has allowed Bay Area activists to escape the consequences of their actions while forcing others to make sacrifices.
Similarly, elements of the west’s small sport and commercial salmon fishing industries have benefited from the status quo. The 1,722 permit holding fishermen collected hundreds of millions of federal tax dollars from 2007-2009. Nunes calls this money a payoff for their environmental activism, which was enacted under Democratic supermajorities. Several recipients made out with more than half a million dollars, with 213 fishermen walking away with six figure checks. And while some have claimed that the industry is 100% unemployed, regulators documented deliveries of sardine, mackerel, anchovy, squid and other species, effectively refuting the allegation that salmon fishermen are unable to work.
Nunes says that despite controversy generated by these groups, House leaders remain unfazed. A markup and full House consideration will likely follow this summer. Meanwhile, San Joaquin Valley residents have benefited from significant exposure beyond the greater Central Valley. The region’s water crisis has been highlighted nationally and is followed by the Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity and others. In 2009, the Wall Street Journal opined that Central Valley farmers are California’s new endangered species. This prognosis may change if House Republicans succeed.
POSTED BY CONGRESSMAN DEVIN NUNES AT WEDNESDAY, JUNE 08, 2011
2nd attempt
I left my blog months ago because I couldn't get anybody interested in debating. While I have tried to talk on other sites I am sick and tired of some of the idiots who have forced me to give up those pages. It is impossible to have a debate with people who are too ignorant to learn the issues and just want to dwell on name calling. It is a waste of my time to deal with these yo-yos.
If you are a fed up conservative and just want to have a dialogue join in. The more conservatives we can round up the better. We have to stick together or we are going to end up with another 4 years of this horrific president who won't be satisfied until he has collapsed the economy.
If you are a fed up conservative and just want to have a dialogue join in. The more conservatives we can round up the better. We have to stick together or we are going to end up with another 4 years of this horrific president who won't be satisfied until he has collapsed the economy.
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