Obama is doing everything he said he'd do on the campaign trail.
That's a problem, but at least no one who voted for him should be shocked. Those of us who didn't vote for him aren't.
It's bad news that he's waltzing merrily through his list of "to-do's" as promised.
It's double, triple, quadruple bad that he's also doing all the things he said he would never do.
Hope everyone enjoys their high utility bills ala cap and trade... and the extra taxes you'll have to dish out to cover "government health care".
Monday, June 29, 2009
Can Republicans Win Back the Black Vote?
“Why Is the Black Vote in the Democrats’ Pocket?” That is the title of an article by Juliette Ochieng which provides an analysis of why Republicans are having very little success attracting more blacks into the Republican Party. The article can be found on the Internet at: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/why-is-the-black-vote-in-the-democratic-pocket/
Ochieng opines that blacks have been trained by Democrats to expect political parties to provide quid pro quo. In other words, while Republicans want to help blacks pursue happiness (teach blacks how to fish so they can feed themselves for a lifetime), Democrats want to provide happiness to blacks (give them a fish so they can eat for a day).
The Democratic Party’s strategy of using handouts to garner the black votes, while working to keep blacks mired in poverty, was described as “plantation politics” by President Barack Obama on page 147 of his book “Dreams From My Father”. As a result of the politics of poverty practiced by Democrats, including Obama, the firm belief is now deeply rooted in the black community that the government must "do something” for blacks.
Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40+ years and turned those communities into economic and social wastelands with their failed socialist policies. Yet, Democrats have the gall to blame Republicans for the deplorable conditions caused by the Democrats. Democrats also accuse Republicans of doing nothing to help poor blacks – a charge that resonates with victim mongers.
However, since the beginning of the so-called War on Poverty, over $ 9 trillion has been spent on poverty programs. According to the Washington Post, in one year alone under President George W. Bush, over $500 billion was spent on over 80 poverty-related programs, with little movement in the poverty needle. The problem with black poverty is not money – and it is not the Republican Party.
Notably, only 25% of blacks are poor and living in those dilapidated neighborhoods run by Democrats. The remaining 75% of blacks are prosperous and living in the larger society. Shamefully, Democrats consistently fight efforts of Republicans to help poor blacks living in Democrat-controlled neighborhoods get out of poverty. Most egregious is the fight by Democrats to keep Republicans from providing school choice opportunity scholarships so that black parents can get their children out of failing schools. The money belongs to the people, not the buildings controlled by the teachers’ unions that are supporters of the Democratic Party.
Further, Democrats, aided by liberal journalists and teachers, hide information about black poverty that is embarrassing to Democrats. For instance, after the Civil War, blacks left the plantations run by Democrats with little more than the ragged clothes on their backs. Today, the combined wealth of blacks is over $1.4 trillion – up from the $644 billion in 2005 – a staggering figure that is equivalent to the GNP of the world's 16th largest economy. This is an incredible, historic achievement.
Whenever Republicans attempt to point out that it is the Democrats who are keeping those inner-city blacks mired in poverty, Democrats resort to playing the race card, falsely accusing the Republican Party of being the party of the racists who denied blacks civil rights during and prior to the 1960’s .
The blatant use of race-baiting by Democrats to win the black vote is why any strategy to attract blacks back into the Republican Party must include not only a focus on economic and social issues, but also information about the true history of civil rights.
The NBRA Civil Rights Newsletter that is posted on the Internet at: www.NBRA.info provides information that helps set the civil rights record straight. Referenced in the newsletter is an article published by the Claremont Institute entitled "The Myth of the Racist Republicans" that can be found on the Internet at: http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.928/article_detail.asp
Included in the newsletter are additional references such as "Unfounded Loyalty" by Rev. Wayne Perryman, "Wrong on Race" by Bruce Bartlett and "A Short History of Reconstruction" by Dr. Eric Foner, a renowned liberal historian whose biography can be found on the Internet at: http://www.ericfoner.com/
Perryman wrote his book after conducting years of research and then sued the Democratic Party, demanding an apology for that party’s 150-year history of racism based on the Democratic Party's “States Rights” claims. The Democrats admitted their racist past under oath in court, but refused to apologize because they know that they can take the black vote for granted.
It is frustrating to observe how most black Americans continue to support the Democratic Party, in spite of that party’s reprehensible history of racism and socialism that have caused so much harm to blacks. As author Michael Scheuer stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.
At one time in our history, almost all blacks were Republicans because, since its inception in 1854 as the anti-slavery party, the Republican Party has always been the party of freedom and equality for blacks. Studies show that today, still, most blacks share the values of the Republican Party. Those same studies demonstrate that most blacks are very conservative and do not share the values of the Democratic Party that supports same-sex marriage, partial-birth abortion and banning God from the public square.
In order to keep blacks from voting their values or for Republicans, every election cycle, Democrats preach hatred against the Republican Party and get blacks to cast a protest vote against Republicans, and not a vote for Democrats.
The message that Democrats gives to poor blacks is despicable. If you remain poor, uneducated and vote for Democrats, we will celebrate your victimhood. If you get a good education, get a good job and vote for Republicans, we will denigrate you as "acting white”, a "sellout”, an "Uncle Tom”, a "House Negro”, a "House N-word", a "Lawn Jockey”, and worse.
Democrats talk tolerance, but practice intolerance, castigating any black person as a “traitor” to his or her race who does not toe the liberal agenda line.
When black Democrat Juan Williams wrote his book entitled "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-end Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America" that exposed the deplorable conditions in black communities, Williams was denounced on national TV by another black Democrat as a "Happy Negro".
Brazenly, on the left-wing Internet website called "The News Blog," Democrats posted a doctored photograph of then Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele (now chairman of the RNC) when he was running for a Senate seat, depicting Steele as a "Simple Sambo" with a blackened minstrel-style face, nappy hair and big, think red lips. The cartoon caption read: “Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house”. This contemptible racist stereotype is the same one Democrats used to demean black men during the era of slavery and segregation.
In addition to other outrageous racist images of Dr. Condoleezza Rice produced by several Democrats, cartoonist Jeff Danziger depicted Dr. Rice as an ignorant, barefoot "mammy", reminiscent of the stereotyped black woman in the movie “Gone with the Wind” about the slave era black woman who remarked: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies". This is the type of racist stereotype Democrats used to demean black women during the era of slavery and segregation.
Democrats now love Gen. Colin Powell, but spewed out racist attacks on Powell before he endorsed Obama and embraced the liberal agenda of higher taxes and a bigger government to provide poverty-producing handouts to blacks.
A video was shot by WKRN Video Journalist Beau Fleenor at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee that shows Al Sharpton demeaning Gen. Powell and Dr. Rice, when Sharpton was asked to give his opinions about whether Powell and Rice were “House Negroes". That video can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVjrBY5-F0
An article that appeared in a Portland, Oregon paper was one of many exposing how hardly a ripple of protest was made by black Democrats when Harry Belafonte publicly denounced Gen. Powell as a "House Negro". It can be found on the Internet at: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2002/10/27103.shtml
The denigration by Democrats of blacks who identify with the Republican Party makes it nearly impossible for the Republican Party to attract blacks into the party, and for black Republicans to get elected to office in black communities. Yet, Democrats have the temerity to point a finger of blame at the Republican Party for there being so few blacks in the Republican Party and for there being so few black Republican elected officials. Notably, the few black Republicans who get elected to public office do so in largely white Republican districts.
Those black Americans living in the Democrat-controlled neighborhoods who want to get out of poverty should seize control over their own destiny and stop voting monolithically for Democrats who use “plantation politics” to buy their votes while keeping blacks in poverty.
Democrats will forever maintain a ”lock” on the black vote, for as long as black Americans – including prosperous blacks who sympathize with poor blacks – continue believing the myth that the Republican Party is a racist party and clinging to the false notion that poor blacks are “victims” who need government handouts to survive.
Frances Rice is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, a lawyer and chairman of the National Black Republican Association. She can be contacted at: www.NBRA.Info
(Article reprinted with permission)
Ochieng opines that blacks have been trained by Democrats to expect political parties to provide quid pro quo. In other words, while Republicans want to help blacks pursue happiness (teach blacks how to fish so they can feed themselves for a lifetime), Democrats want to provide happiness to blacks (give them a fish so they can eat for a day).
The Democratic Party’s strategy of using handouts to garner the black votes, while working to keep blacks mired in poverty, was described as “plantation politics” by President Barack Obama on page 147 of his book “Dreams From My Father”. As a result of the politics of poverty practiced by Democrats, including Obama, the firm belief is now deeply rooted in the black community that the government must "do something” for blacks.
Democrats have been running black communities for the past 40+ years and turned those communities into economic and social wastelands with their failed socialist policies. Yet, Democrats have the gall to blame Republicans for the deplorable conditions caused by the Democrats. Democrats also accuse Republicans of doing nothing to help poor blacks – a charge that resonates with victim mongers.
However, since the beginning of the so-called War on Poverty, over $ 9 trillion has been spent on poverty programs. According to the Washington Post, in one year alone under President George W. Bush, over $500 billion was spent on over 80 poverty-related programs, with little movement in the poverty needle. The problem with black poverty is not money – and it is not the Republican Party.
Notably, only 25% of blacks are poor and living in those dilapidated neighborhoods run by Democrats. The remaining 75% of blacks are prosperous and living in the larger society. Shamefully, Democrats consistently fight efforts of Republicans to help poor blacks living in Democrat-controlled neighborhoods get out of poverty. Most egregious is the fight by Democrats to keep Republicans from providing school choice opportunity scholarships so that black parents can get their children out of failing schools. The money belongs to the people, not the buildings controlled by the teachers’ unions that are supporters of the Democratic Party.
Further, Democrats, aided by liberal journalists and teachers, hide information about black poverty that is embarrassing to Democrats. For instance, after the Civil War, blacks left the plantations run by Democrats with little more than the ragged clothes on their backs. Today, the combined wealth of blacks is over $1.4 trillion – up from the $644 billion in 2005 – a staggering figure that is equivalent to the GNP of the world's 16th largest economy. This is an incredible, historic achievement.
Whenever Republicans attempt to point out that it is the Democrats who are keeping those inner-city blacks mired in poverty, Democrats resort to playing the race card, falsely accusing the Republican Party of being the party of the racists who denied blacks civil rights during and prior to the 1960’s .
The blatant use of race-baiting by Democrats to win the black vote is why any strategy to attract blacks back into the Republican Party must include not only a focus on economic and social issues, but also information about the true history of civil rights.
The NBRA Civil Rights Newsletter that is posted on the Internet at: www.NBRA.info provides information that helps set the civil rights record straight. Referenced in the newsletter is an article published by the Claremont Institute entitled "The Myth of the Racist Republicans" that can be found on the Internet at: http://www.claremont.org/publications/crb/id.928/article_detail.asp
Included in the newsletter are additional references such as "Unfounded Loyalty" by Rev. Wayne Perryman, "Wrong on Race" by Bruce Bartlett and "A Short History of Reconstruction" by Dr. Eric Foner, a renowned liberal historian whose biography can be found on the Internet at: http://www.ericfoner.com/
Perryman wrote his book after conducting years of research and then sued the Democratic Party, demanding an apology for that party’s 150-year history of racism based on the Democratic Party's “States Rights” claims. The Democrats admitted their racist past under oath in court, but refused to apologize because they know that they can take the black vote for granted.
It is frustrating to observe how most black Americans continue to support the Democratic Party, in spite of that party’s reprehensible history of racism and socialism that have caused so much harm to blacks. As author Michael Scheuer stated, the Democratic Party is the party of the four S's: slavery, secession, segregation and now socialism.
At one time in our history, almost all blacks were Republicans because, since its inception in 1854 as the anti-slavery party, the Republican Party has always been the party of freedom and equality for blacks. Studies show that today, still, most blacks share the values of the Republican Party. Those same studies demonstrate that most blacks are very conservative and do not share the values of the Democratic Party that supports same-sex marriage, partial-birth abortion and banning God from the public square.
In order to keep blacks from voting their values or for Republicans, every election cycle, Democrats preach hatred against the Republican Party and get blacks to cast a protest vote against Republicans, and not a vote for Democrats.
The message that Democrats gives to poor blacks is despicable. If you remain poor, uneducated and vote for Democrats, we will celebrate your victimhood. If you get a good education, get a good job and vote for Republicans, we will denigrate you as "acting white”, a "sellout”, an "Uncle Tom”, a "House Negro”, a "House N-word", a "Lawn Jockey”, and worse.
Democrats talk tolerance, but practice intolerance, castigating any black person as a “traitor” to his or her race who does not toe the liberal agenda line.
When black Democrat Juan Williams wrote his book entitled "Enough: The Phony Leaders, Dead-end Movements and Culture of Failure That Are Undermining Black America" that exposed the deplorable conditions in black communities, Williams was denounced on national TV by another black Democrat as a "Happy Negro".
Brazenly, on the left-wing Internet website called "The News Blog," Democrats posted a doctored photograph of then Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele (now chairman of the RNC) when he was running for a Senate seat, depicting Steele as a "Simple Sambo" with a blackened minstrel-style face, nappy hair and big, think red lips. The cartoon caption read: “Simple Sambo wants to move to the big house”. This contemptible racist stereotype is the same one Democrats used to demean black men during the era of slavery and segregation.
In addition to other outrageous racist images of Dr. Condoleezza Rice produced by several Democrats, cartoonist Jeff Danziger depicted Dr. Rice as an ignorant, barefoot "mammy", reminiscent of the stereotyped black woman in the movie “Gone with the Wind” about the slave era black woman who remarked: "I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies". This is the type of racist stereotype Democrats used to demean black women during the era of slavery and segregation.
Democrats now love Gen. Colin Powell, but spewed out racist attacks on Powell before he endorsed Obama and embraced the liberal agenda of higher taxes and a bigger government to provide poverty-producing handouts to blacks.
A video was shot by WKRN Video Journalist Beau Fleenor at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee that shows Al Sharpton demeaning Gen. Powell and Dr. Rice, when Sharpton was asked to give his opinions about whether Powell and Rice were “House Negroes". That video can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdVjrBY5-F0
An article that appeared in a Portland, Oregon paper was one of many exposing how hardly a ripple of protest was made by black Democrats when Harry Belafonte publicly denounced Gen. Powell as a "House Negro". It can be found on the Internet at: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2002/10/27103.shtml
The denigration by Democrats of blacks who identify with the Republican Party makes it nearly impossible for the Republican Party to attract blacks into the party, and for black Republicans to get elected to office in black communities. Yet, Democrats have the temerity to point a finger of blame at the Republican Party for there being so few blacks in the Republican Party and for there being so few black Republican elected officials. Notably, the few black Republicans who get elected to public office do so in largely white Republican districts.
Those black Americans living in the Democrat-controlled neighborhoods who want to get out of poverty should seize control over their own destiny and stop voting monolithically for Democrats who use “plantation politics” to buy their votes while keeping blacks in poverty.
Democrats will forever maintain a ”lock” on the black vote, for as long as black Americans – including prosperous blacks who sympathize with poor blacks – continue believing the myth that the Republican Party is a racist party and clinging to the false notion that poor blacks are “victims” who need government handouts to survive.
Frances Rice is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel, a lawyer and chairman of the National Black Republican Association. She can be contacted at: www.NBRA.Info
(Article reprinted with permission)
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Crap & Tax: 8 Rep. turncoats can change their vote...
The following is from one of the Facebook groups I'm in. Right after the names and contact info, website w/ info on getting the group of Republicans who just took part in killing the American economy to change their votes. Time is short, burn up the phone lines, get them to stand up for our Country and our values. :
List of 8 Republicans who voted for the 'Cap & Trade' bill and their contact information:
Bono Mary Mack (CA) 202-225-5330 Fax (202) 225-2961 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://bono.house.gov/Contact_Mary/
Castle Mike (DE) 202-225-4165 Fax http://www.facebook.com/l/ ;202.225.2291 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.castle.house.gov/Contact/
Kirk Mark (IL) 202-225-4835 Fax: 202-225-0837 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.house.gov/kirk/zipauth.shtml
Lance Leonard (NJ) 202-225-5361 Fax: (202) 225-9460 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://lance.house.gov/?sectionid=48§iontree=3,48
Lobiondo Frank (NJ) 202-225-6572 (fax)(202) 225-3318 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.house.gov/lobiondo/IMA/issue.htm
McHugh John (NY) 202-225-4611 Fax (202) 226-0621 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://mchugh.house.gov/zipauth.aspx
Reichart Dave (WA) 202-225-7761 Fax (202) 225-4282 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://reichert.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm
Smith Chris (NJ) 202-225-3765 Fax 202-225-7768 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://chrissmith.house.gov/zipauth.html
According to this website, there is a period during which they can change their vote: http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=108383728936&h=SRGFN&u=wrDlm&ref=mf (If that doesn't work for you, here's the actual site without Facebook link: http://www.teapartypatriots.org/)
If you know ANYONE in any of these congressional districts, THAT MUCH BETTER. Also, remember that this ridiculous legislation will now be sent to the Senate for vote. It is important to begin contacting them IMMEDIATELY, letting them know you will work against them in the future, support any candidate they face IF THEY SUPPORT THIS RIDICULOUS bill.
And, finally, an editorial from Investor's Business Daily (IBD) on this Bill:
Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
Fiscal Policy: The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on an anti-stimulus package that in the name of saving the earth will destroy the American economy. Smoot-Hawley will seem like a speed bump.
Not since a misguided piece of legislation imposed tariffs that turned a recession into a depression has there been a piece of legislation as bad as Waxman-Markey.
The 1,000-plus-page American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) is being rushed to a vote by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before anyone can seriously object to this economic suicide pact.
It’s what Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, might call a “man-caused disaster,” a phrase she coined to replace the politically incorrect “terrorist attack.” But no terrorist could ever dream of inflicting as much damage as this bill.
Its centerpiece is a “cap and trade” provision that has been rightfully derided as “cap and tax.” It is in fact a tax on energy everywhere it is consumed on everything it is used to make or provide.
It is the largest tax increase in American history — a tax on all Americans — even the 95% that President Obama pledged would never see a tax increase.
It’s a political bill that could come to a vote now that a deal was struck with farm-state legislators concerned about the taxation of even bovine flatulence.
As part of the agreement reached Tuesday night and announced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), agricultural oversight for cap-and-trade was transferred from the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Farmers hope the USDA will be less intrusive. The EPA has been tasked by a Supreme Court ruling to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from your nostrils to your lawn mower. This even covers the emissions of barnyard animals, including the methane from cows.
The American Farm Bureau warns that cap and trade would cost the average farmer $175 on every dairy cow and $80 for beef cattle. So farm-state politics trumped climate change.
We all know about farmers paid not to grow food. But now, American taxpayers apparently will be paying companies not to chop down trees. The Washington Times reports that as part of the legislation, the House will also be voting Friday on a plan to pay domestic and international companies around the world not to cut down trees.
Such offsets “would be a transfer of wealth overseas,” said William Kovacs, vice president for environmental affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So if a tree falls in a Brazilian forest, does a U.S. taxpayer make a sound?
As we’ve said before, capping emissions is capping economic growth. An analysis of Waxman-Markey by the Heritage Foundation projects that by 2035 it would reduce aggregate gross domestic product by $7.4 trillion. In an average year, 844,000 jobs would be destroyed, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by almost 2 million (see charts below).
Consumers would pay through the nose as electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket, as President Obama once put it, by 90% adjusted for inflation. Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices would rise 74%, residential natural gas prices by 55% and the average family’s annual energy bill by $1,500.
Hit hardest by all this would be the “95% of working families” Obama keeps mentioning as being protected from increased taxation. They are protected, that is, unless they use energy. Then they’ll be hit by this draconian energy tax.
And what would we get for all this pain? According to an analysis by Chip Knappenberger, administrator of the World Climate Report, the reduction of U.S. CO2 emissions to 83% below 2005 levels by 2050 — the goal of the Waxman-Markey bill — would reduce global temperature in 2050 by a mere 0.05 degree Celsius.
President Obama has called on the U.S. to “lead by example” on global warming. During the campaign, he said: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
Soon we may not be able to. Other countries can just sit back and watch us destroy ourselves. Where will you be when the lights go out?
List of 8 Republicans who voted for the 'Cap & Trade' bill and their contact information:
Bono Mary Mack (CA) 202-225-5330 Fax (202) 225-2961 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://bono.house.gov/Contact_Mary/
Castle Mike (DE) 202-225-4165 Fax http://www.facebook.com/l/ ;202.225.2291 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.castle.house.gov/Contact/
Kirk Mark (IL) 202-225-4835 Fax: 202-225-0837 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.house.gov/kirk/zipauth.shtml
Lance Leonard (NJ) 202-225-5361 Fax: (202) 225-9460 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://lance.house.gov/?sectionid=48§iontree=3,48
Lobiondo Frank (NJ) 202-225-6572 (fax)(202) 225-3318 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.house.gov/lobiondo/IMA/issue.htm
McHugh John (NY) 202-225-4611 Fax (202) 226-0621 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://mchugh.house.gov/zipauth.aspx
Reichart Dave (WA) 202-225-7761 Fax (202) 225-4282 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://reichert.house.gov/Contact/ZipAuth.htm
Smith Chris (NJ) 202-225-3765 Fax 202-225-7768 http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://chrissmith.house.gov/zipauth.html
According to this website, there is a period during which they can change their vote: http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=108383728936&h=SRGFN&u=wrDlm&ref=mf (If that doesn't work for you, here's the actual site without Facebook link: http://www.teapartypatriots.org/)
If you know ANYONE in any of these congressional districts, THAT MUCH BETTER. Also, remember that this ridiculous legislation will now be sent to the Senate for vote. It is important to begin contacting them IMMEDIATELY, letting them know you will work against them in the future, support any candidate they face IF THEY SUPPORT THIS RIDICULOUS bill.
And, finally, an editorial from Investor's Business Daily (IBD) on this Bill:
Editorial, Investor's Business Daily
Fiscal Policy: The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on an anti-stimulus package that in the name of saving the earth will destroy the American economy. Smoot-Hawley will seem like a speed bump.
Not since a misguided piece of legislation imposed tariffs that turned a recession into a depression has there been a piece of legislation as bad as Waxman-Markey.
The 1,000-plus-page American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) is being rushed to a vote by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before anyone can seriously object to this economic suicide pact.
It’s what Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, might call a “man-caused disaster,” a phrase she coined to replace the politically incorrect “terrorist attack.” But no terrorist could ever dream of inflicting as much damage as this bill.
Its centerpiece is a “cap and trade” provision that has been rightfully derided as “cap and tax.” It is in fact a tax on energy everywhere it is consumed on everything it is used to make or provide.
It is the largest tax increase in American history — a tax on all Americans — even the 95% that President Obama pledged would never see a tax increase.
It’s a political bill that could come to a vote now that a deal was struck with farm-state legislators concerned about the taxation of even bovine flatulence.
As part of the agreement reached Tuesday night and announced by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Beverly Hills), agricultural oversight for cap-and-trade was transferred from the Environmental Protection Agency to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Farmers hope the USDA will be less intrusive. The EPA has been tasked by a Supreme Court ruling to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from your nostrils to your lawn mower. This even covers the emissions of barnyard animals, including the methane from cows.
The American Farm Bureau warns that cap and trade would cost the average farmer $175 on every dairy cow and $80 for beef cattle. So farm-state politics trumped climate change.
We all know about farmers paid not to grow food. But now, American taxpayers apparently will be paying companies not to chop down trees. The Washington Times reports that as part of the legislation, the House will also be voting Friday on a plan to pay domestic and international companies around the world not to cut down trees.
Such offsets “would be a transfer of wealth overseas,” said William Kovacs, vice president for environmental affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. So if a tree falls in a Brazilian forest, does a U.S. taxpayer make a sound?
As we’ve said before, capping emissions is capping economic growth. An analysis of Waxman-Markey by the Heritage Foundation projects that by 2035 it would reduce aggregate gross domestic product by $7.4 trillion. In an average year, 844,000 jobs would be destroyed, with peak years seeing unemployment rise by almost 2 million (see charts below).
Consumers would pay through the nose as electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket, as President Obama once put it, by 90% adjusted for inflation. Inflation-adjusted gasoline prices would rise 74%, residential natural gas prices by 55% and the average family’s annual energy bill by $1,500.
Hit hardest by all this would be the “95% of working families” Obama keeps mentioning as being protected from increased taxation. They are protected, that is, unless they use energy. Then they’ll be hit by this draconian energy tax.
And what would we get for all this pain? According to an analysis by Chip Knappenberger, administrator of the World Climate Report, the reduction of U.S. CO2 emissions to 83% below 2005 levels by 2050 — the goal of the Waxman-Markey bill — would reduce global temperature in 2050 by a mere 0.05 degree Celsius.
President Obama has called on the U.S. to “lead by example” on global warming. During the campaign, he said: “We can’t drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes on 72 degrees at all times . . . and then just expect that other countries are going to say OK.”
Soon we may not be able to. Other countries can just sit back and watch us destroy ourselves. Where will you be when the lights go out?
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Time for a revolution.
We're heading back to the days of imperialism if not worse.
Our country was formed to get away from the tyranny that is in the works as I type.
There's a master plan at play and too many Americans are blindly going about their daily lives as the plan is enacted.
Czars that report directly to the President bypassing Congress?
Companies owned and run by the government?
"State run" (ie., government) health care?
The Census.
Now the CRAP and TAX?
The list is much longer than I just popped out. You will wake up and we'll be living in 1984, Soylent Green or some combination of all the books we toss out as "don't want to go there's".
While protests are good and great and I'll be there, we need to be organizing to get the vote out. I know the protests are great ways to energize and engage more people, they're helping to bring attention to causes and hopefully wake up a few of our sleeping Republicans. But we also need to be pounding the streets, handing out information, organizing to go door to door and more.
It is going to take non-politicians to make it happen. It's going to take you and I working our tails off like the organizers of the Tea Party groups are doing (major kudos to all of you!). More Americans HAVE to get involved. More Americans HAVE to wake up.
What is it with these idiot Republicans who voted YES for crap and tax??? Unfortunately, there are many in Washington who sell their souls daily to stay in power. They compromise their principles to appease their voters. I don't know the motivation of the turncoats who sold their countries future in the crap and tax vote. They can dress it up rhetorically any way they want, but the bottom line is they stabbed our free America in the back. One day, if history books are still being freely and truthfully written, their names will be listed in the same column we put Neville Chamberlain, Benedict Arnold and their ilk.
Our Republican politicians need to keep their pants zipped, too. Everyone is human, they fail, but man when a Republican steps over the line it becomes the world's biggest news story. It's a distraction and the press loves it. Can't you guys be good enough long enough to allow us a couple of good elections?
There are a lot of things at play right now. It's the perfect storm as everyone has become fond of saying. Every time one of our Republican politicians steps off the straight and narrow track due to egos, the idiotic thought that they can hide something, letting power mush their judgement, believing the hype or whatever, they poke a hole in our ship. The ship that is already battling the perfect storm.
Too many topics to cover... crap and tax, dallying politicians, vote rigging, protests, America asleep at the wheel.
It's time for a revolution. I'm just not sure if there are sufficient numbers of us out here who are engaged and care enough to make it happen. I hope there are, I hope we can connect and organize. Hope is not a method, but it surely is important! Hope and action combined can work miracles.
Viva la revolution. Let's get it on.
Our country was formed to get away from the tyranny that is in the works as I type.
There's a master plan at play and too many Americans are blindly going about their daily lives as the plan is enacted.
Czars that report directly to the President bypassing Congress?
Companies owned and run by the government?
"State run" (ie., government) health care?
The Census.
Now the CRAP and TAX?
The list is much longer than I just popped out. You will wake up and we'll be living in 1984, Soylent Green or some combination of all the books we toss out as "don't want to go there's".
While protests are good and great and I'll be there, we need to be organizing to get the vote out. I know the protests are great ways to energize and engage more people, they're helping to bring attention to causes and hopefully wake up a few of our sleeping Republicans. But we also need to be pounding the streets, handing out information, organizing to go door to door and more.
It is going to take non-politicians to make it happen. It's going to take you and I working our tails off like the organizers of the Tea Party groups are doing (major kudos to all of you!). More Americans HAVE to get involved. More Americans HAVE to wake up.
What is it with these idiot Republicans who voted YES for crap and tax??? Unfortunately, there are many in Washington who sell their souls daily to stay in power. They compromise their principles to appease their voters. I don't know the motivation of the turncoats who sold their countries future in the crap and tax vote. They can dress it up rhetorically any way they want, but the bottom line is they stabbed our free America in the back. One day, if history books are still being freely and truthfully written, their names will be listed in the same column we put Neville Chamberlain, Benedict Arnold and their ilk.
Our Republican politicians need to keep their pants zipped, too. Everyone is human, they fail, but man when a Republican steps over the line it becomes the world's biggest news story. It's a distraction and the press loves it. Can't you guys be good enough long enough to allow us a couple of good elections?
There are a lot of things at play right now. It's the perfect storm as everyone has become fond of saying. Every time one of our Republican politicians steps off the straight and narrow track due to egos, the idiotic thought that they can hide something, letting power mush their judgement, believing the hype or whatever, they poke a hole in our ship. The ship that is already battling the perfect storm.
Too many topics to cover... crap and tax, dallying politicians, vote rigging, protests, America asleep at the wheel.
It's time for a revolution. I'm just not sure if there are sufficient numbers of us out here who are engaged and care enough to make it happen. I hope there are, I hope we can connect and organize. Hope is not a method, but it surely is important! Hope and action combined can work miracles.
Viva la revolution. Let's get it on.
Atlanta Tea Party Patriots Protest in Opposition to Cap and Trade
Protests will be happening across the country.
Saturday, June 27, 200912:00 noon
State Capitol
Bring signs in Opposition to Cap and Tax
Ideas include: Cap and Tax, Cap and Traitors, Cap and tr8tors, No Taxation without Reading the Bill, Tea Party Patriots Vote
If you are not in metro Atlanta, protest at the Federal Building in your county.
If one is not listed on http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://teapartypatriots.org, organize it and enter it.
Saturday, June 27, 200912:00 noon
State Capitol
Bring signs in Opposition to Cap and Tax
Ideas include: Cap and Tax, Cap and Traitors, Cap and tr8tors, No Taxation without Reading the Bill, Tea Party Patriots Vote
If you are not in metro Atlanta, protest at the Federal Building in your county.
If one is not listed on http://www.facebook.com/l/;http://teapartypatriots.org, organize it and enter it.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
FRC: Will Health Care Reform Force You to Pay for Abortions?
Sign our petition to House and Senate Leaders that abortion should be excluded from health care coverage
President Obama and the Democratic leadership are putting health care reform on a fast track, hoping to take control of 17 percent of the national economy in 6-8 weeks.
Any health care reform must address a number of factors, including affordability, accessibility, portability and transparency. Families, not government, should control how health care dollars are spent.
No health care reform should force us to perform or be complicit in actions we find offensive. A right of conscience protects physicians and other health providers from being compelled to do things that violate religious or moral briefs.
Of highest importance, under no circumstances should taxpayers be forced to give up what they have now, which is a firewall between their tax dollars and abortion. Because of the many ways health policy can be crafted to finesse this issue, as happened under the health insurance connector in Massachusetts, our position must be explicit: "If the legislation that is put to a vote in Congress does not explicitly exclude abortion, it will unquestionably include it and we will oppose it."
Please watch this video and then sign our petition to House and Senate leaders telling them that you oppose forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions in any health care reform plan.
Will Health Care Reform Force You to Pay for Abortions?
Sincerely,
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
President Obama and the Democratic leadership are putting health care reform on a fast track, hoping to take control of 17 percent of the national economy in 6-8 weeks.
Any health care reform must address a number of factors, including affordability, accessibility, portability and transparency. Families, not government, should control how health care dollars are spent.
No health care reform should force us to perform or be complicit in actions we find offensive. A right of conscience protects physicians and other health providers from being compelled to do things that violate religious or moral briefs.
Of highest importance, under no circumstances should taxpayers be forced to give up what they have now, which is a firewall between their tax dollars and abortion. Because of the many ways health policy can be crafted to finesse this issue, as happened under the health insurance connector in Massachusetts, our position must be explicit: "If the legislation that is put to a vote in Congress does not explicitly exclude abortion, it will unquestionably include it and we will oppose it."
Please watch this video and then sign our petition to House and Senate leaders telling them that you oppose forcing taxpayers to pay for abortions in any health care reform plan.
Will Health Care Reform Force You to Pay for Abortions?
Sincerely,
Tony Perkins
President
Family Research Council
Monday, June 1, 2009
Obama continues to errode election integrity
Over and over I hear people saying that things are going to get so bad that by the time the 2010 and / or 2012 elections roll around the voters will put Republicans back in control. If not in control, then at least there will be sufficient Republican numbers elected to mitigate Obama's actions.
I wonder if our vote will matter by the time we head to polls in 2010. I fear that by the next national election cycles the integrity of our voting system have been so corrupted we won't win no matter how many of us cast the "right" vote.
When I share my concerns with friends I can feel their skepticism. I feel their eyes rolling upwards even if they're too courteous to do anything more than nod politely.
However, the feeling persists, especially as I read reports from across the country of problems with election results.
Just like most of you I've watched with interest some of the close elections like the comedian versus Norm Coleman. It's a foregone conclusion that if it's a close election the Democrat will sooner or later take the seat. Hook, crook or fudge, the end result is consistently that the Republican loses on some technicality.
Bit by bit Obama and friends are nipping away at our election process. I won't go into all the problems with ACORN and similar groups. If you're the kind of person who reads my blogs then you're also the kind of person who knows about ACORN.
Obama has just taken an axe and almost chopped through the trunk of the mighty oak tree of voter integrity in Georgia. The ruling (below) could completely topple the stalwart old oak and knock off one state that voted against Obama in last year's elections.
If this ruling is any indicator of what he's doing across the country, my fears may have just moved from the "chicken-little paranoia"column into the "gee, maybe she's right to be worried" column.
Regardless of my concerns and fears, as I've said before, I'll fight to the end for our country and our values. I'll do everything in my puny power to protect the integrity of our elections. I may not have much power alone, but if enough of us get concerned, if enough of us collaborate, maybe we can affect the outcome. Maybe we will be able to put our country back on the right track.
I received this earlier today:
Obama Justice Department Decision Will Allow Non-Citizens to Register to Vote in Georgia
Decision Bars Georgia From Continuing Voter Verification Process
Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement following the U.S. Department of Justice’s denial of preclearance of Georgia’s voter verification process
Atlanta - “The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny preclearance of Georgia’s already implemented citizenship verification process shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections. With this decision, DOJ has now barred Georgia from continuing the citizenship verification program that DOJ lawyers helped to craft. DOJ’s decision also nullifies the orders of two federal courts directing Georgia to implement the procedure for the 2008 general election. The decision comes seven months after Georgia requested an expedited review of the preclearance submission.
“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting, instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.
“This process is critical to protecting the integrity of our elections. We have evidence that non-citizens have voted in past Georgia elections and that more than 2,100 individuals have attempted to register, yet still have questions regarding their citizenship. Further, the Inspector General’s office is investigating more than 30 cases of non-citizens casting ballots in Georgia elections, including the case of a Henry County non-citizen who registered to vote and cast ballots in 2004 and 2006.
“It is important to underscore that not a single person has come forward to say he or she could not vote because of the verification process. Further, while DOJ argues that the process is somehow discriminatory, the historic voter turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters in the 2008 general elections clearly says otherwise.
“This decision provides a specific example of the inherently illogical and unfair nature of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It is a sad day for the rights of our state and for the integrity of our elections. I remain committed to continuing the fight for citizenship verification. In the coming days, I will consider every option available to the state, including the possibility of legal action.”
Background:
As required by law and ordered by federal courts in October 2008, the eligibility of new applicants to register and vote is checked against the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) and Social Security Administration databases to ensure that individuals registering to vote report similar information. If information in these databases does not match information reported on the voter registration form, the applicant is asked to clarify the information. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by a registrar to provide proof of citizenship.
Prior to the November 2008 General Election, Secretary Handel sent letters to 4,771 voter registration applicants whose records at DDS indicated they were not U.S. citizens, asking them to provide documentation of their citizenship. As of March 2009, 2,148 of these applicants still have chosen not to resolve the question about their U.S. citizenship.
In the November 2008 General Election, county election officials reported that 599 individuals cast a challenged ballot because the voter had previously indicated to DDS that he or she was not a United States citizen and had not resolved their status with county officials at the time of the election. Of those, 369 ballots were accepted because the voter provided documentation of their citizenship after the election; and 230 were rejected because the individual chose not to confirm his or her citizenship status.
On October 10, 2008, activist organizations including the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to attempt to prevent Georgia from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in the November General Election, including whether those individuals were citizens of the United States.
On October 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp denied the motion by MALDEF and ACLU; directed the State to continue the verification process; and acknowledged the State’s requirements to verify information under the Help America Vote Act. In his order, Judge Camp stated:
HAVA requires that Defendant Handel match information in the statewide voter registration database with information from the Georgia DDS and the SSA databases “to the extent necessary to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on the applications for voter registration.”
Judge Camp also stated:
Since the possibility of fraudulent and inaccurate voting could significantly injure and diminish the public’s respect and confidence in the electoral process, the State’s ability to maintain reliable voter lists is paramount to a temporary and minor inconvenience to a few individuals.
On October 27, 2008, a U.S. District Court three-judge panel again directed the State to continue its voter registration verification process and challenge ballot procedures through the November General Election.
The 2008 elections were the largest in Georgia’s history, featuring record turnout among minority voters with the citizenship verification program in place. The figures below represent voter turnout statistics among Hispanic/Latino, African-American and White voters from the 2004 and 2008 General Elections.
Voter Demographic
2004 Total Number of Votes Cast
2008 Total Number of Votes Cast
Percentage Increase in Votes Cast
Hispanic/Latino
18,000
43,000
140%
African-American
834,000
1.2 million
42%
White
2.3 million
2.5 million
8%
Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State's office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
I wonder if our vote will matter by the time we head to polls in 2010. I fear that by the next national election cycles the integrity of our voting system have been so corrupted we won't win no matter how many of us cast the "right" vote.
When I share my concerns with friends I can feel their skepticism. I feel their eyes rolling upwards even if they're too courteous to do anything more than nod politely.
However, the feeling persists, especially as I read reports from across the country of problems with election results.
Just like most of you I've watched with interest some of the close elections like the comedian versus Norm Coleman. It's a foregone conclusion that if it's a close election the Democrat will sooner or later take the seat. Hook, crook or fudge, the end result is consistently that the Republican loses on some technicality.
Bit by bit Obama and friends are nipping away at our election process. I won't go into all the problems with ACORN and similar groups. If you're the kind of person who reads my blogs then you're also the kind of person who knows about ACORN.
Obama has just taken an axe and almost chopped through the trunk of the mighty oak tree of voter integrity in Georgia. The ruling (below) could completely topple the stalwart old oak and knock off one state that voted against Obama in last year's elections.
If this ruling is any indicator of what he's doing across the country, my fears may have just moved from the "chicken-little paranoia"column into the "gee, maybe she's right to be worried" column.
Regardless of my concerns and fears, as I've said before, I'll fight to the end for our country and our values. I'll do everything in my puny power to protect the integrity of our elections. I may not have much power alone, but if enough of us get concerned, if enough of us collaborate, maybe we can affect the outcome. Maybe we will be able to put our country back on the right track.
I received this earlier today:
Obama Justice Department Decision Will Allow Non-Citizens to Register to Vote in Georgia
Decision Bars Georgia From Continuing Voter Verification Process
Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement following the U.S. Department of Justice’s denial of preclearance of Georgia’s voter verification process
Atlanta - “The decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to deny preclearance of Georgia’s already implemented citizenship verification process shows a shocking disregard for the integrity of our elections. With this decision, DOJ has now barred Georgia from continuing the citizenship verification program that DOJ lawyers helped to craft. DOJ’s decision also nullifies the orders of two federal courts directing Georgia to implement the procedure for the 2008 general election. The decision comes seven months after Georgia requested an expedited review of the preclearance submission.
“DOJ has thrown open the door for activist organizations such as ACORN to register non-citizens to vote in Georgia’s elections, and the state has no ability to verify an applicant’s citizenship status or whether the individual even exists. DOJ completely disregarded Georgia’s obvious and direct interest in preventing non-citizens from voting, instead siding with the ACLU and MALDEF. Clearly, politics took priority over common sense and good public policy.
“This process is critical to protecting the integrity of our elections. We have evidence that non-citizens have voted in past Georgia elections and that more than 2,100 individuals have attempted to register, yet still have questions regarding their citizenship. Further, the Inspector General’s office is investigating more than 30 cases of non-citizens casting ballots in Georgia elections, including the case of a Henry County non-citizen who registered to vote and cast ballots in 2004 and 2006.
“It is important to underscore that not a single person has come forward to say he or she could not vote because of the verification process. Further, while DOJ argues that the process is somehow discriminatory, the historic voter turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters in the 2008 general elections clearly says otherwise.
“This decision provides a specific example of the inherently illogical and unfair nature of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. It is a sad day for the rights of our state and for the integrity of our elections. I remain committed to continuing the fight for citizenship verification. In the coming days, I will consider every option available to the state, including the possibility of legal action.”
Background:
As required by law and ordered by federal courts in October 2008, the eligibility of new applicants to register and vote is checked against the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) and Social Security Administration databases to ensure that individuals registering to vote report similar information. If information in these databases does not match information reported on the voter registration form, the applicant is asked to clarify the information. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by a registrar to provide proof of citizenship.
Prior to the November 2008 General Election, Secretary Handel sent letters to 4,771 voter registration applicants whose records at DDS indicated they were not U.S. citizens, asking them to provide documentation of their citizenship. As of March 2009, 2,148 of these applicants still have chosen not to resolve the question about their U.S. citizenship.
In the November 2008 General Election, county election officials reported that 599 individuals cast a challenged ballot because the voter had previously indicated to DDS that he or she was not a United States citizen and had not resolved their status with county officials at the time of the election. Of those, 369 ballots were accepted because the voter provided documentation of their citizenship after the election; and 230 were rejected because the individual chose not to confirm his or her citizenship status.
On October 10, 2008, activist organizations including the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit to attempt to prevent Georgia from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in the November General Election, including whether those individuals were citizens of the United States.
On October 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Jack Camp denied the motion by MALDEF and ACLU; directed the State to continue the verification process; and acknowledged the State’s requirements to verify information under the Help America Vote Act. In his order, Judge Camp stated:
HAVA requires that Defendant Handel match information in the statewide voter registration database with information from the Georgia DDS and the SSA databases “to the extent necessary to enable each such official to verify the accuracy of the information provided on the applications for voter registration.”
Judge Camp also stated:
Since the possibility of fraudulent and inaccurate voting could significantly injure and diminish the public’s respect and confidence in the electoral process, the State’s ability to maintain reliable voter lists is paramount to a temporary and minor inconvenience to a few individuals.
On October 27, 2008, a U.S. District Court three-judge panel again directed the State to continue its voter registration verification process and challenge ballot procedures through the November General Election.
The 2008 elections were the largest in Georgia’s history, featuring record turnout among minority voters with the citizenship verification program in place. The figures below represent voter turnout statistics among Hispanic/Latino, African-American and White voters from the 2004 and 2008 General Elections.
Voter Demographic
2004 Total Number of Votes Cast
2008 Total Number of Votes Cast
Percentage Increase in Votes Cast
Hispanic/Latino
18,000
43,000
140%
African-American
834,000
1.2 million
42%
White
2.3 million
2.5 million
8%
Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State's office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
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